Job safe for Saudi coach

Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar will be spared the axe even if he fails to deliver a royal command performance and guide them into the second round of the World Cup.

Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz, grandson of the Saudi Arabian king, has told Al Johar he expects the Saudis to qualify from a group that contains the Republic of Ireland, Germany and Cameroon.