UAE, Saudi Arabia set for final showdown

JEDDAH: The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will meet in the final of the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup on Tuesday at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.The final, to be played at the 62,000-capacity stadium, promises a strong contest between two teams seeking to conclude their Gulf Cup campaigns with the title.Saudi Arabia, representatives of Group A, reached the final after finishing their group campaign with a perfect record before overcoming Qatar in the semifinal after extra time.The UAE, runners-up in Group B, secured their place in the final with a narrow 1-0 victory over Oman in Saturday’s semifinal. Othman Camara scored the decisive goal in the 22nd minute, heading home a cross from Mamadou Coulibaly.UAE coach Zlatko Dalic welcomed his team's progress but admitted that there was room for improvement ahead of the decisive encounter.'We did not play our best match and missed some chances, particularly the penalty, but the most important thing for us was reaching the final,' Dalic said after the semifinal.

'The match was not what I expected, but my team and players secured the victory, and that is what matters. I believe we can perform better, improve our style of play and create more chances. Hopefully, our performance in the final will be better,' he added.Dalic acknowledged the challenge awaiting his side against the hosts, who will have the backing of a large home crowd.  Saudi Arabia is a strong team and will play in front of their supporters, so it will be a very difficult match. I expect a strong contest and a full stadium. We have great respect for the Saudi team,' he said.The Croatian coach also highlighted the limited recovery time before Tuesday's final, stressing that restoring the players' physical condition would be a priority.'The most important thing now is to recover the players. We only have two days, but Saudi Arabia also played extra time in their match against Qatar, so they face the same challenge in terms of fatigue,' Dalic noted.He also thanked the UAE supporters who travelled to Jeddah and called for continued unity behind the team.'We must be together the fans, media, players, technical staff and management. Everyone should move in the same direction,' he said.Qatar’s Gulf Cup 27 campaign ended in the semifinals, extending a run of early exits in recent editions. The team also reached the semifinals in 2024, 2023, 2019 and 2009, losing to Iraq in 2024 and 2023, Saudi Arabia in 2019 and Oman in 2009. Qatar were eliminated in the group stage in 2017, 2013, 2010 and 2007.