FIFA World Cup: Saudis in Rostov after scary flight to venue

The Saudi Arabia football team arrived here for their make-or-break game against Uruguay on Wednesday after a frightening flight from their training ground in St Peterburg.

The Saudi plane landed safely here after an incident in which their plane caught fire during the flight, with a video showing flames coming from beneath one of the wings, reports Xinhua news agency.

The airline Rossiya said the first cause of the problem had been a bird-strike on one of the engines, but that both had been in perfect working order on landing here.

On landing the Saudis posted photos of the team getting off the plane and confirmed "all the Saudi national team players are safe, after a technical failure in one of the airplane engines that has just landed in Rostov-on-Don airport".

Although the plane landed safely, it is not the perfect way to start preparations for a game the Saudi Arabians have to win on Wednesday in order to avoid an early exit from the competition following their 0-5 defeat to Russia in the opening match of the World Cup.

Uruguay meanwhile defeated Egypt 1-0 with a late goal and a victory would almost certainly book their place in the last 16.

--IANS

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