40 Greatest Goals in World Cup History: #38 Said Al-Owairan - Saudi Arabia vs Belgium ('94)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia became a member of FIFA in 1956. But they did not enter the qualification rounds until 1978 and did not qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals until 1994.

The '94 edition in the United States of America was their first ever outing in the World Cup and they took a number of teams by surprise, entertaining fans and neutrals alike with their brand of football.

Saudi teams from 1998, 2002, and 2006 may not have gone past the group stages but the 1994 team did. It was a tournament whose format allowed the best third-placed teams to qualify for the knockout stages too but Saudi Arabia finished second in their group behind The Netherlands.

And the result that helped them clinch that place in the Round of 16 was the win over Belgium.

The result? 1-0. The goalscorer? Said Al-Owairan. In only the fifth minute of the game!

It would be the only goal the attacking player would score in a World Cup. But he made sure it would be one of the most memorable goals in the history of the tournament.

Saudi Arabia needed at least a point from their final group game. Al-Owairan ensured they got all three with a solo run that bordered on the ridiculous and sublime.

It came completely against the run of play. Belgium were on the attack when their captain Enzo Scifo received the ball in a dangerous position in midfield but lost the ball immediately.

The first pass out from the Saudi defence was straight to Al-Owairan in midfield. But most of his teammates were behind him and, with acres of space in front of him, Al-Owairan accelerated away into Belgium's half.

That quick acceleration allowed him to move past two defenders in midfield near the centre circle. Dirk Medved even attempted a lunge which Al-Owairan skipped past and then evaded another defender to find himself with just defender Rudi Smidts and the goalkeeper in his way.

Unfortunately for Smidts, the Belgian defender had his back to Al-Owairan. As he turns to his right, Al-Owairan shifts the ball to his left and then moves the ball through his legs.

With only the goalkeeper to beat now, Al-Owairan then takes his shot while falling to the ground, managing to fire it past goalkeeper Michel Preud'homme and into the top corner to spark wild celebrations from the travelling Saudi fans.

The goal gave him the moniker 'The Saudi Maradona' for the mazy run that was quite similar to El Diego's goal against England in 1986.

Al-Owairan ran 69

metres

with the ball, beating 4 defenders and the goalkeeper

Saudi Arabia held firm to keep Belgium at bay for the rest of the game as they kept a clean sheet and advanced to the Round of 16. There, Sweden would knock them out with a 3-1 win - on their way to a third-place finish.

But Saudi Arabia became only the second Asian team to qualify from the group stages of the World Cup and it was all thanks to Said Al-Owairan's solo effort. It is why his goal is in our list of 40 Greatest Goals in World Cup history.