Germany massacre Saudi Arabia 8-0 in one-sided match.

Sapporo, Japan (PANA) - German striker Miroslav Klose's hat-trick helped Germany to destroy hapless Saudi Arabia 8-0 in a one-sided 2002 World Cup match played in Sapporo, Japan, Saturday. Halftime score was 4-0.

Three headers from German striker Miroslav Klose in the 20th, 25th and 70th minutes would have guaranteed an undisputed victory for the 2006 World Cup hosts.

But the Saudis did not help matters by their lack of aggressive play, leaving the Germans plenty of room to roam over the green turf untamed.

While poor marking by the Saudis was mainly to blame for the disaster, the Germans' desire to put away as many goals as possible was perhaps influenced by the fear of the unknown in their next games where they face Ireland on 5 June in Ibaraki and play Cameroon in Shizuoka on 11 June in their Japan-based Group E line-up.

These are two formidable sides, and making hay while it shone was the only sensible explanation for the Germans' unrelenting destruction of the Saudis, whose survival in the tournament beyond ...