The Saudi national team will play an important test against its Omani counterpart on Saturday, at Al-Enmaa Stadium in Jeddah, as part of the second round of the group stage of the Gulf Cup tournament “Gulf 27”. During which, “Al-Akhdar” is looking forward to achieving its second victory in a row, and clinching its qualification to the semi-finals, while the Omani team is looking for its first victory in the tournament.
In the second confrontation within the same group, the Iraqi team will meet its Kuwaiti counterpart at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, in a match during which the two teams will seek to achieve their first victory and enhance their chances of competing for one of the two qualification tickets to the next round.
Al-Akhdar enters its confrontation with Oman leading the standings of the first group with 3 points, after winning the opening match against Kuwait with an unanswered goal, while the Iraqi and Omani teams share second place with one point each, after they tied with a goal for the same in the first round, while the Kuwaiti team is at the bottom of the standings without any points.
The Iraqi team took an early lead against Oman with a goal by Mohammed Qasim in the sixth minute, before Nasser Al Rawahi succeeded in equalizing the Omani team in the 67th minute, leaving the two teams with one point each.
The Saudi team sets Oman’s points as a main goal. The victory will guarantee him passage to the semi-finals without waiting for the results of the last round, while the stumble will put him facing more complex calculations when he faces the Iraqi team at the end of the group competitions.
“Al-Akhdar”, led by its Greek coach Denis, seeks to build on its opening victory against Kuwait, and improve its offensive effectiveness, after it succeeded in getting the three points despite the opportunities its players wasted in front of the goal.
It is expected that the main list of the Saudi national team will witness a number of changes, led by the entry of goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Owais as a replacement for Nawaf Al-Aqidi, who suffered an injury during the opening confrontation against Kuwait, which required his exclusion from the technical staff’s accounts.
Donis had started the match against Kuwait with a list that included Nawaf Al-Aqidi in the goalkeeper, and in front of him was Nawaf Bushel, Abdul-Ilah Al-Omari, Hassan Kadish and Miteb Al-Harbi, while Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Muhammad Kanno, Nasser Al-Dosari, Hammam Al-Hammami and Muhammad Abu Al-Shamat were present in the middle of the field, while Abdullah Al-Hamdan led the front line.
The Greek coach is expected to make additional changes to his squad against Oman, in light of his desire to increase the degree of offensive effectiveness and take advantage of the options available to him, especially since the Saudi team awaits another confrontation against Iraq in the third and final round of the group stage.
Denis had confirmed in the press conference preceding the confrontation that the Saudi team would do everything in its power to achieve victory, stressing the need to play aggressively against Oman, while respecting the opponent and focusing on the defensive and offensive aspects.
He pointed out that the technical staff analyzed the performance of the Omani national team, which has highly skilled players, explaining that his team will make some changes based on the nature of the opponent.
On the other hand, the Omani team, led by its Moroccan coach Tariq Sektiwi, enters the confrontation looking to compensate for its draw in the first round against Iraq, and achieve a positive result that enhances its chances of competing for qualification.
Al-Saktiwi relies on a group of elements that combine experience and youth, led by Hareb Al-Saadi, Nasser Al-Rawahi, Issam Al-Subhi, Ahmed Al-Kaabi and Sultan Al-Marzouq, in an attempt to keep up with the Saudi national team and reduce its offensive danger.
The Omani national team hopes to benefit from the spirit shown by its players against Iraq, after they succeeded in returning to the match and achieving a draw, despite falling behind by an early goal.
Al-Saktiwi confirmed that his team will face Saudi Arabia as the Omani team, indicating that its goal is to achieve victory, and not be satisfied with defense or searching for a draw.
He explained that some of his players suffered from stress after the confrontation with Iraq, but this does not constitute a source of concern for the technical staff, stressing the readiness of all elements for the match.
The direct confrontations between the Saudi and Omani teams in the Gulf Cup tournaments carry a historical advantage for “Al-Akhdar”, which achieved 13 victories during 17 confrontations between the two teams, compared to 3 victories for Oman, while it attended a draw in one match.
In terms of goals, the Saudi national team scored 33 goals against its Omani counterpart, compared to 12 goals scored by the Omani national team.
The name of former Saudi striker Majed Abdullah stands out in the history of the two teams’ confrontations, after he scored 3 goals against Oman in the Gulf Cup competitions.
In the other confrontation, the Iraqi team enters the Kuwait match looking to achieve its first victory in the tournament, after drawing against Oman in the opening round, while the Kuwaiti team is looking to compensate for its loss against Saudi Arabia and return to the competition for qualification.
The Iraqi team, led by its Australian coach Graham Arnold, hopes to make better use of attacking opportunities, after it failed to maintain its early lead against Oman, settling for one point at the beginning of its campaign.
Arnold is counting on a group that combines elements of experience and new faces, as part of his quest to achieve positive results in the tournament, in addition to giving a number of players the opportunity to participate and gain more international experience.
On the other hand, the Kuwaiti team enters the confrontation without a point score, after losing to Saudi Arabia with an unanswered goal, in a match during which it showed defensive organization, but it did not succeed in investing in the opportunities it had to achieve a positive result.
The Kuwaiti national team, led by its Portuguese coach Helio Sousa, is seeking to correct the mistakes that appeared in the opening match, especially during the final minutes, which witnessed a decline in the physical performance of its players.
