JEDDAH: The second round of Group B at Gulf Cup 27 will take place on Sunday, with Yemen facing Qatar and Bahrain taking on the UAE in two important matches in Jeddah.
Qatar will look to build on their opening win over Bahrain, while the UAE will aim to maintain their strong start after a 4-0 victory over Yemen.
Bahrain and Yemen, meanwhile, will be seeking positive results to revive their campaigns.
The pre-match press conferences for Sunday’s Group B matches were held on Saturday at the Media Centre at Hilton Jeddah, with the four teams outlining their preparations.
DALIC TARGETS SEMIFINALS
UAE head coach Zlatko Dalic said, “will target a place in the semifinals when we face Bahrain after opening 4-0 win over Yemen.”
“We will face a strong opponent, and we know what we have to do. We will give our best to achieve victory. Bahrain have a lot of experience and a very good coach,” the Croatian coach said.
“If we win tomorrow, we will qualify for the semifinals and achieve our first objective. We have to forget the Yemen match and focus on Bahrain,” Dalic ended.
UAE midfielder Nicolas Gimenez said: “The match will be difficult, and all the teams are strong. We want to give our best and make our fans and coach happy.”
TALAJIC CALLS FOR SPEEDY PERFORMANCE
Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic called for a stronger performance against the UAE after his side lost 2-0 to Qatar in their opening match.
“This is a difficult tournament, and everyone still has a chance to qualify. I trust my players and we will do a good job tomorrow.”
“The UAE played a very strong match and had high-level players.”
“We have to be faster throughout the match and not give them any chances. The UAE are in a better position because they won their first match,” Talajic concluded.
Bahrain midfielder Mahdi Abduljabbar said: “We trust the coach’s tactics and all the players want to give their best. We will work on our decisions and improve our performance in the next match.”
LOPETEGUI URGES FOCUS AGAINST YEMEN
Qatar head coach Julen Lopetegui stressed the importance of the Yemen clash while acknowledging the limited recovery time between matches.
“We don’t have enough time to rest, so tomorrow we will play with the best players who are ready. The match is important for us, and we will face an opponent for whom it is also important. We have to focus on ourselves.”
Lopetegui stressed, “We are not focusing on their loss in the first match. We respect them. They have strong players, and we have to give our best.”
Qatar midfielder Sultan al Breik added: “We are ready for tomorrow’s match and, God willing, we will achieve victory. There are no easy matches, and we are prepared for the game.”
OULD ALI SEEKS RESPONSE AGAINST QATAR
Yemen head coach Noureddine Ould Ali said the Qatar match represents an opportunity for his side to respond after their opening defeat to the UAE.
“For us, the match will be an opportunity to respond. We made some mistakes in the previous match and we will work to correct them.”
Ould Ali pointed out, “we will face a World Cup team that has gained considerable experience, and we will work to improve our performance and benefit from this match.”
Yemen midfielder Rami al Wasmani said the players were determined to make amends.
“We are disappointed with the first match result, but we have promised each other to perform better in the next match. With the determination of the players, God willing, we will show a better performance.”
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