The second day of “Gulf 27” witnessed the crowning of the stars of the Emirati and Qatari national teams with the Best Player Award, presented by Al Diar Al Arabiya Company, the main partner of the tournament held in the city of Jeddah.
Nicolas Jimenez, the UAE national team player, won the best player award in the match against Yemen, which ended with “Al-Abyad” winning by four goals to nothing.
In the second match, the Qatari team beat its Bahraini counterpart by two goals to no, and Boualem Khoukhi won the best player award in the match.
The first day witnessed the coronation of Hammam Al-Hammami, the Saudi national team player, and Nasser Al Rawahi, the Oman national team player, with the best player awards in the matches between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman, so that the list of winners of the award continues with the second day’s competitions.
The Best Player Award is awarded with the support of Al Diyar Al Arabiya, as part of the main partnership between the company and the Gulf Football Association.
The Spanish coach of the Qatari national team, Julian Lopetegui, expressed his happiness with the performance of his players against Bahrain, in the confrontation that ended with Al-Anabi winning with two unanswered goals, in the first round of the Arabian Gulf Cup competitions, “Gulf 27”, indicating that his team succeeded in overcoming the difficult weather conditions and dealing with the numerical shortage in the last minutes of the match.
Lopetegui said, during the press conference after the confrontation: “The conditions were very difficult due to the humidity and high temperatures, but we played a good match against Bahrain, and the players showed an amazing performance amid all these conditions.”
He added: “We must now rest and move forward in the tournament, especially since we will face Yemen in three days. Today we made a great effort against a distinguished team, and we will focus on the positives that we came out of facing the defending champion. We watched the players in high spirits, and I repeat that I am happy with the performance they gave.”
Regarding the Qatari team’s handling of the final minutes of the match after the expulsion, Lopetegui explained: “We worked to maintain our cohesion on the field, and the players showed technical maturity and the ability to deal with the circumstances of the match.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about the defensive formation of the Bahraini national team, which prevented Qatar from appearing in the expected offensive manner, he said: “I repeat that Bahrain did a good job, and I know Dragan well. He is a great coach and has a different playing style. Also, being the defending champion gives them an advantage, and I confirm that they are a distinguished team.”
He added: “But today we were better in performance and luckier, and do not forget that our matches against Bahrain are always very difficult. We will focus on the positives and the great morale boost that today’s victory gave us.”
The President of the Kuwait Football Association, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Yousef, confirmed that his country’s national team came to Jeddah to compete for the Gulf Cup title, “Gulf 27,” stressing his support for Portuguese coach Helio Sousa.
The Kuwaiti team began its tournament campaign with a loss to Saudi Arabia 0-1, but Al-Yousef confirmed that the “Blue” team will fight to achieve victory over Iraq in the second round of the first group competitions.
He said: “I am very happy with the level shown by the national team against Saudi Arabia. We succeeded in preparing the players to face the host team returning from the World Cup, which has great potential.”
He added: “Al-Azraq gave a distinguished and manly performance, and was close to scoring on more than one occasion, even though the squad chosen by coach Helio Souza, which included a number of young players, was shocking and unexpected to many.”
Al-Youssef explained that facing Iraq will be different, stressing that the players realize the importance of the match and the size of the responsibility placed on their shoulders. He said: “It is easy to prepare the players for such matches, as they know the importance of confrontation, and they realize that we need to fight until the final whistle in order to achieve our goal.”
Regarding Sousa’s choices, the President of the Kuwaiti Federation stressed his non-interference in technical matters, saying: “I do not interfere in Sousa’s choices, and I am the same as the players and fans in knowing the lineup of matches. The coach is the one who makes the technical decision, and we support his work.”
Al-Yousef considered that the team will be “fully prepared for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia,” noting that the low age of players enhances the future of Kuwaiti football, and that current work aims to build a team capable of serving Kuwaiti football for many years.
He concluded: “We do not want to be satisfied with performance, but rather we want to translate it into results, and the beginning will be with Iraq.”
