Saudi football team ready to take on Uruguay today

Saudi Arabia national football team manager Juan Antonio Pizzi said the Monday's fire incident on the plane will affect their performance in the World Cup match against Uruguay on Wednesday, ESPN reported.

On Monday, the Saudi team was travelling on a Rossiya Airbus A319 from St Petersburg, which suffered a technical fault with one of its engines, with a bird getting caught seen as the preliminary cause.

"We didn't feel afraid, there was no panic, we fully trusted the pilot and those in charge of the plane," said Pizzi in a pre-match conference.

"We were cool and calm at all times. Although the pictures do speak for themselves, and point to some emergency, we certainly didn't feel uncomfortable, and it certainly does not affect and will not affect our performance for [Wednesday]."

Midfielder Taisir Al Jassim said the team is looking forward to facing Uruguay.

"Now that we have come to the hotel, we have forgotten all the events that took place, whether it is the previous match or the accident of yesterday," he said.

"We are focused on the match with Uruguay. Each and every player in the Saudi squad aims at changing the image that we have conveyed in the opening match, because it is not the true image of Saudi players, the Saudi squad and Saudi football. We are focused on bringing a brighter image tomorrow," Al-Jassim said.