Saudi Arabia were the brighter of the two sides in the opening stages, with Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy called into action to smartly thwart Firas Al-Buraikan and Musab Al-Juwayr from close range inside a dominant first 10 minutes for Georgios Donis’ team.
The pattern of Saudi control continued up to HT, as Nasser Al-Dawsari steered narrowly off target just after the half-hour mark, and Senegal offered a limited response with Cherif Ndiaye repelled in stoppage time.
Despite an impressive first-period showing, Donis opted for five substitutions at the break, looking to give more of his squad minutes.
However, those changes unsettled Saudi Arabia’s attacking rhythm, and Senegal slowly hauled themselves back into the contest. Pape Thiaw introduced Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr on 62 minutes, but they were unable to sprinkle some much-needed star quality on the contest, and Senegal’s frustration was compounded in the final minutes when Jackson was shown a second yellow card in the space of as many minutes for a lunge at Abdullah Al-Hamdan.
A goalless draw means Saudi Arabia kick off their Group H campaign against Uruguay next week on the back of two unbeaten warm-up friendlies after beating Puerto Rico 3-0 previously.
The result ended Senegal’s run of scoring in 11 consecutive games, and they head into a daunting group stage opener with France having failed to win either of their pre-tournament friendlies.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mohammed Al-Owais (Saudi Arabia)
