Greek Georgios Donis, the coach of the Saudi national team, said that his team awaits a difficult match against its Omani counterpart, stressing the importance of presenting a performance that shows the players’ improvement in scoring the opportunities they have.
The Saudi national team sits at the top of the standings with 3 points, following its 1-0 victory over the Kuwait national team on Wednesday, in the opening round of the group, where it is ahead by two points over its closest rivals, the Iraq and Oman national teams, who tied 1-1 at the start of their matches in the competition.
Denis held a press conference on Friday, where he praised the efforts of the Al-Akhdar players, whether during the Kuwait match or during the previous training sessions, noting that his talk about the problem of wasting opportunities does not negate the effort made by the players over 100 minutes against the Kuwaiti team, which created only one chance thanks to the distinguished defensive performance.
Regarding the problem of wasting opportunities, the “Al-Akhdar” coach said that he worked in special training on reverse pressing, stressing that the training and confidence will give the players the opportunity to perform their best in the upcoming confrontations.
Regarding Saturday’s confrontation, Denis said: “What I noticed is that the Oman players play with attackers and have high quality. “We analyzed the performance and will make some changes based on the opponent.”
Donis stressed: “It is important to implement what we want defensively and offensively, and they have enough skills to play in a difficult way and we must focus on controlling the match and possessing the ball.”
Denis revealed that Nawaf Al-Aqidi's injury is very difficult, expressing his hope that he will be available to the team in the future. He also touched on other absences in the Saudi national team, noting that Muhammad Al-Qahtani is sick and has not trained in the last two days.
The Saudi national team hopes to obtain the three points in order to officially qualify for the semi-finals, without waiting for the result of its match against its Iraqi counterpart in the last round of the group.
It is noteworthy that Denis excluded goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi from the team camp participating in the Gulf Cup due to injury.
The Saudi national team said: “Denis, the coach of the national team, excluded the player Nawaf Al-Aqidi from the Al-Akhdar camp held in Jeddah as part of the 27th Gulf Cup competitions, based on the medical report following the examinations that the player underwent on the site of his injury in the elbow.”
The tests revealed that the player was not ready and needed a treatment and rehabilitation program.
Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, the Saudi national team player, confirmed that competing in the Gulf Cup tournament on home soil represents a great incentive to win the title and return it to the Al-Akhdar coffers.
Abu Al-Shamat said in his statements to the media before the confrontation with Oman: “First, praise be to God. If we performed excellently in the last match, it is thanks to all the players present and not just me and my brother Saleh. We are one family and brothers here, and everyone, from the youngest player to the oldest, did not fail at all, and we promise the fans to continue working and making them happy in the next match.”
Regarding his participation in the right wing position instead of the usual full-back position, the Al-Akhdar player explained: “I implemented coach Denis’ instructions on the field; I am completely ready to participate in any position in which the technical staff and the Saudi national team need me, whether it is on the wing or the full-back position.”
In response to a question about the responsibility placed on the current generation to achieve titles, he replied: “There is no pressure at all, but rather there is very high confidence among all elements of the group. The tournament is being held on our soil and among our fans, and we aspire to exploit this advantage in the best possible way. We promise the audience to deal with each confrontation separately and with high concentration until we reach the final and lift the cup together.”
Regarding the technical preparation and tactical conversation with the coach to deal with the defensive organization of the Omani team, he stressed: “It is true, the coach gave us an analytical lecture about the Omani team and we studied their strengths and their technical system carefully, and we will work in training to apply the required approach to exploit opportunities and demonstrate complete readiness on the field.”
Regarding dealing with the media and sports criticism and the extent of the Saudi player’s need for moral support, the player stated: “Everyone definitely needs support, and the media is an integral part of the sports system. The Saudi player accepts criticism consciously, and on the other hand, the media must take into account the nature of football and the fluctuations that may occur in the levels of players from time to time.”
Abu Al-Shamat concluded his statements with a message addressed to the Saudi masses, saying: “Support us and always be behind us; The tournament is being held on our land, and God willing, it will not leave Saudi Arabia, and we promise to always make you happy.”
