The UAE is looking forward to achieving its second victory in the 27th Gulf Cup held in Jeddah at the expense of title holder Bahrain, similar to Qatar, which faces wounded Yemen on Sunday, in a scenario that will ensure their passage from the second group to the semi-finals.
“Al-Abyad” achieved a wide victory over Yemen 4-0 at the start of its matches in “Gulf 27”, and “Al-Anabi” overthrew Bahrain 2-0, enhancing their chances of qualifying, before their meeting in the third and final round.
The UAE, which held the title in 2007 and 2013, failed to pass the group stage in the last three editions, but its convincing performance in the first meeting made it dominate the spotlight.
Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic called on his players to keep their feet on the ground and show “full respect for all competitors.”
Dalic, who succeeded in presenting the UAE national team well, in his first match under his leadership since assuming his duties in August as a replacement for Romanian Cosmin Olario, said: “We must not exaggerate the victory, as it is a small step in our journey in the tournament.”
He continued: “We always strive to be at the forefront. We have an important match (against Bahrain) for which we must prepare well. I previously stated that we will go through the tournament stage by stage, and our first goal is to qualify from the group stage.”
The 2018 World Cup runner-up played with Croatia in the first match against Yemen with a squad that included ten naturalized players, so dominance was clear in favor of the UAE, which achieved its biggest victory since defeating Oman 4-0 also in the “Gulf 5” in 1979.
Dalic said: “My job is to build a new team and play collectively, so I do not focus on the identity of the players, whether they are naturalized or Emirati. I include in the match the player who deserves to play, and I do not care where he comes from.”
Dalic can benefit from the services of Bala Guilherme after he missed the first match due to injury, as the Shabab Al-Ahly player can provide an offensive addition with Yuri Cesar and Bruno Oliveira, and Nicolas Jimenez, who scored a brace in the Yemen match.
Bahrain, which was crowned in the last edition with the second title in its history, may find itself outside the tournament if it suffers a second loss in a row when it meets the UAE, despite the promises of its Croatian coach Dragan Talajic of a third coronation.
Talajic hopes to erase the negative image in which “Al-Ahmar” appeared, apart from his great performance in “Gulf 26” in Kuwait.
Talajic said after the loss: “We made mistakes that caused the loss, and we will work to correct them in the next two matches.” I am proud of the team players and I have confidence in all of them to compensate against the Emirates.”
He continued: “There are 6 points that we will work to achieve in order to qualify, and we realize that the task has become relatively difficult, but we will fight for the six points.”
In the UAE match, the Bahraini team will rely on most of the players who participated against Qatar, but it will miss the efforts of Abbas Al-Asfoor, who was sent off in the Qatar match, after causing a penalty kick in stoppage time.
For its part, the Qatari team is seeking to ensure qualification to the semi-finals, when it meets its Yemeni counterpart, in a match that seems easy on paper.
The victory will be enough for Qatar to pass, if the UAE team overcomes or draws with its Bahraini counterpart in the second match.
Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, coach of Qatar, said: “Confronting Yemen cannot be easy, regardless of the opponent’s first appearance, as he is still a party to the calculations until now.”
He added: “It is true that we gained a lot of morale boosters after starting with a victory against a stubborn competitor and the holder of the title of the last edition, a victory that we have not achieved since November 2021, but we have not accomplished anything.”
In turn, the Yemeni team will enter the last chance match after the huge defeat against the UAE, to avoid officially leaving the competition.
Despite the strong start of the first match, armed with its historic series, having played the last eight official matches in all competitions without losing, Yemen collapsed due to the UAE’s offensive pressure.
Algerian Noureddine Ould Ali, coach of Yemen, said: “The first loss was a harsh lesson from which we must learn. I do not imagine that we will appear in this way again.”
He described what happened as “great collective negligence... and I can bear responsibility, but that match will not make me return to what the national team was five years ago.”
He continued: “We will wake up, and we will prepare as necessary for the match against Qatar, and we hope that we will be on time.”
The Greek Giorgos Donis, the coach of the Saudi national team, confirmed that Alaa Al Hajji’s career in the Gulf Cup tournament “Gulf 27” has ended, after he suffered an injury against Oman, in the match that ended with “Al-Akhdar” winning 3-0, in the second round of the first group.
Donis said during the press conference after the confrontation: “I think we gave a great performance and excellent positioning in the first half, and when we lost the ball, we were all pressing as a group, and we waited for the right time to score goals.”
He added: “But, on the other hand, I am not happy about the performance in the second half. We suffered from some injuries, and Alaa Al Hajji, who was outstanding in the match, left, as I learned that he was suffering from a knee injury that would keep him out for about three weeks at best. On the other hand, Muhammad Al-Qahtani will be present in group training tomorrow.
The “Al-Akhdar” coach added: “We were calm and did not lose the ball easily, and although the Omani team had some chances in the second half, and we should have continued steadfastly until the last minute, in terms of attack, we demonstrated our great improvement during this match.”
Regarding the participation of striker Abdullah Al-Hamdan and the media pressure directed towards him, he explained: “In general, in football, I try as a coach to provide support to the players and give them tactical and mental advice. I don't think it's a good idea to target a specific player and blame him alone; We play every match with 11 players, and all elements are important to me. The media is sometimes harsh on a player, and sometimes supports him. This is the nature of football, and everyone has his own opinion, but within the national team we trust ourselves, and our constant priority is development.”
Regarding the rotation policy and managing physical effort, the Greek pointed out: “It is very natural to rotate between players; We play a match every three days, and the extent of injuries or fatigue cannot be predicted. Before the start of the tournament, I became more familiar with the players and their level of preparedness. There are elements that need to develop some aspects, and we must work on resting them physically. If we want to build a distinguished national team, we must have more than 11 ready players.”
Regarding the chances of competing for the title after ensuring qualification to the semi-finals, Denis stressed: “We believe very much in ourselves and in the way we work daily. I would not prefer to say that we are ready to lift the title, but rather I say that we will work step by step, match by match, and everyone will be ready. I completely trust the players, and if we had the mentality and organization that we showed in the first half until the end of the tournament, I believe in our ability to win the title.”
Denis touched on the conversation about building the tactical identity of “Al-Akhdar,” explaining: “We are still at the beginning as a team, and I am also at the beginning of my journey with them, and we were not fully prepared during the World Cup. Step by step, it is important that the players reach a stage where they automatically understand the tactical and mental aspects.”
He continued: “I like the players’ passion in handling and moving the ball, and I always repeat to them: If we want to win, we must increase focus on every detail, whether inside the locker room or on the field.”
He concluded: “It is also important for the players to understand each other’s characteristics. There are elements who may not be at their best when they have the ball, so I tell them: Do not pass to the player who is stressed or not good with the ball, and pass to the players who are able to manage the game and control the rhythm.”
