Saudi Arabia have announced a friendly with Moldova in the latter part of February. The latter may be one of the minnows when it comes to world football, but Saudi Arabia need a lot of preparation for the upcoming World Cup. Manager Juan Antonio Pizzi has been able to get Saudi Arabia into the World Cup 2018 and they have been in full swing with regard to preparations. The second stage of those preparations will see them head into the city of Jeddah towards the end of February.
Moldova are not expected to go lightly on this match, as it gives a great opportunity for the national team to get a first victory in 10 matches. The last victory for Moldova was in a friendly match just under a year ago. The friendly with San Marino saw Moldova getting a 2-0 victory back in March 2017. Since then, they have been able to get just three draws – the latest coming in the game against Azerbaijan in January. As expected, Moldova had a disappointing World Cup 2018 qualification campaign and could only muster a return of just two points from 10 matches. The team finished bottom of the group – three points behind Georgia.
The match against Saudi Arabia now becomes a crucial preparation for Moldova, as there are no matches scheduled between now and September when the national team takes part in the UEFA Nations League. Teams like Luxembourg, Belarus, and San Marino will be the opponents for Moldova in this tournament. The Saudi Arabia national team will be taking on Moldova at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. The match is scheduled on February 26. It gives Saudi Arabia with ample time to focus on the World Cup, which will see them take on Russia on 14 June. Egypt and Uruguay are the other group opponents for Saudi Arabia.