Croatian Dragan Talajic, coach of the Bahraini national team, apologized to their fans after losing the Gulf Cup title, bidding them farewell to the UAE by 3-0, in the second round of the group stage.
Dragan said during the press conference after the confrontation: I congratulate the Emirati team, as it achieved a distinguished victory against us, and we expected to appear better.
Regarding the difference between the last edition, in which the Bahraini team won the title, and the current edition, which witnessed its exit from the group stage, he said: As life is, the past has become the past. We didn't play well when we should have, and there are other reasons we have to analyze. I apologize to the Bahraini people for losing this trophy. What's done is done.
The Croatian coach acknowledged the advantage of the UAE team during the confrontation, saying: The UAE team was better at possessing the ball, and we tried to solve the problems we faced, but I think you saw what happened. I will not blame anyone, and we did not have the same mentality that we showed during our participation in Kuwait when we won the title.
Regarding the criticism in the Bahraini sports street regarding his choices for the list, and the demands to rely on Hashoumi as the spearhead, he said: Perhaps you are right. I wanted to give young players a chance. Hashoumi participated in the last match against Qatar, and he always helps us, but today we chose to give the young players the opportunity to gain experience in big matches like this, while trying to achieve victory.
Croatian Zlatko Dalic, coach of the UAE national team, expressed his happiness with the performance presented by his players during the 3-0 victory over Bahrain, stressing that the seriousness with which the team continued its search for goals was one of the most prominent technical gains in the confrontation in the Gulf Cup competitions.
Dalic said, during the press conference after the match: I congratulate both teams, as it was a difficult match, and I congratulate our players who scored three goals and gave a wonderful performance.
The Emirates coach confirmed that he has multiple options, explaining: We have 20 players of similar quality, and there are players suffering from injuries and we had to replace them, and we have multiple options in attack and defense. Of course, our next goal is to beat Qatar, and I would like to give all the players a chance, as everyone wants to participate. I will try to rest some elements and give others a chance.
Regarding the identity of the team he would prefer to face in the semi-final between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, he said: First, we have a final match in the group stage against Qatar, and we will try to rotate between the players and involve the young elements. If we want to reach the final, we have to be prepared to face any team, even though Saudi Arabia and Iraq participated in the World Cup three months ago.
He continued: So far we have not achieved anything significant, and I expect a greater effort from our players. Both teams are strong, and I think we can keep up with them.
Regarding whether the UAE national team possesses elements capable of providing better levels, he said: Yes, this is true, but we are still at the beginning of our journey. If we want to be better, we have to continue the same way. The entire team must defend, as my goal is always to play attacking football, but at the same time with strong defence.
When asked about his opinion on the field, Dalic simply said: It is none of my business.
Mohammed Al-Shoumi, deputy head of the Yemeni national team’s delegation, apologized to their fans after the loss to Qatar, praising at the same time what the players presented on the field.
Speaking to the media after the match, Al-Shoumi said: Kudos to our large Yemeni audience who attended today, and to those who followed the match behind the screens. We apologize to them because we were not able to make them happy and happy, but I think they were also happy with the men who were on the field.
He added: Congratulations to the Qatari team, and God willing, the future will be better.
Regarding the refereeing decisions in the confrontation, Al-Shoumi said: There were two major refereeing errors that changed the course of the match, in addition to what was said on a number of channels regarding the referees’ decisions. There was an unjust penalty kick awarded against us, and another penalty kick that was not awarded to us, and this was confirmed by arbitration analysts on Gulf satellite channels.
