Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia secured a place in the Asian Cup knockout stage on Sunday with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan, who played with only nine men for almost half the match. 

Despite their lower world ranking of 98 compared to Saudi Arabia’s 56, Kyrgyzstan faced an uphill battle from the outset, losing Ayzar Akmatov to a red card in the ninth minute for a studs-up challenge, later confirmed through a VAR check.

Saudi Arabia struggled to capitalize on the numerical advantage, with Feras Al-Brikan missing two golden opportunities before Mohamed Kanno broke the deadlock with a volley in the 35th minute. 

Kyrgyzstan’s challenges escalated when Kimi Merk received a VAR-confirmed red card in the 52nd minute, leaving them with only nine players on the field. Saudi substitute Faisal Al-Ghamdi sealed the win with a goal in the 84th minute, capitalizing on a fumble by Kyrgyzstan’s goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev.

In the same group, Thailand played a goalless draw against Oman, inching closer to the last 16 in Qatar. 

Despite an uneventful match, Thailand coach Masatada Ishii expressed satisfaction with the point, while Oman struggled to break through the Thai defense in the second half. Supachai Chaided, who scored a brace in Thailand’s opening game, found himself increasingly isolated up front for Buriram United.