Saudi Arabia's hopes of reaching the World Cup for the fifth successive time were dashed by Bahrain, who held them to 2-2 draw to set up a final playoff with New Zealand. A frantic finale stunned the home crowd, who were ecstatic when defender Hamad Al-Montashari restored Saudi Arabia's advantage in stoppage time after Bahrain's Jaycee John cancelled out Nasser Al-Shamrani's opener. Saudi players were preparing to celebrate a precious 2-1 victory which would have sent them through after the first leg ended goalless in Bahrain. However, Ismail Abdul-Latif headed home with the last kick of the game to give Bahrain an invaluable draw in the Asian playoff as they progressed on the away goals rule. "We had the bigger motivation because Saudi Arabia already played in the World Cup four times while we are yet to make our first appearance," Bahrain defender Sayed Adnan told Al-Jazeera after the game. Bahrain fell at the last hurdle in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, losing to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 on aggregate. This time they will face Oceania champions New Zealand in a two-legged playoff for a place in next year's South Africa finals. Saudi Arabia's first goal Bahrain's first goal Saudi Arabia's second goal Bahrain's second goal
