2014 World Cup Qualifying - Asia

Saudi Arabia look to overcome loss of Hazzazi

Saudi Arabia will look to overcome the absence of striker Naif Hazzazi to take step closer to a fifth consecutive World Cup finals appearance in their play-off first leg against Bahrain in Manama.

Al Ittihad frontman Hazzazi, 21, tore a cruciate ligament during Sunday's 2-1 friendly win over Malaysia and has been ruled out for six months, while coach Jose Peseiro also has doubts over midfielder Abdulrahman Al Qahtani and defender Redha Tukar.

Saudi Arabia narrowly missed out on qualifying automatically for South Africa after failing to beat North Korea at home on the final matchday, but now are seeking a strong performance in Bahrain ahead of the second leg in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The winner of the two-legged showdown will face Oceania winners New Zealand later this year for a place in South Africa.

"The injury to Hazzazi is annoying but we had enough time to find a replacement. These things happen but we have called up Rayan Bilal and he is very similar,'' said Peseiro.

"Bahrain are strong and are looking to qualify to the World Cup like us. I hope we can get a good result in the first leg before playing the next match at home.

"We know how good Bahrain are but we are confident that we can beat them and qualify.''

Experienced Bahrain coach Milan Macala is eyeing a first-leg advantage at the National Stadium ahead of the tough trip to Riyadh as Bahrain look to go one step further this time around after losing out to Trinidad & Tobago in the 2006 play-offs.

"We must give our best to get a good result which will help us in the next match and win the play-off. We respect Saudi Arabia and we must fight in order to win,'' said Macala.

"The first leg will be very important if we want to win this clash. Saudi Arabia are one of the best teams on the continent and they have a lot of good players.''