Kuwait, dec 25 - The defending champions Qatar will hope to continue their brilliant start in the Arabian Gulf Cup when they meet Iraq in the second round of Group B, while Bahrain take on Yemen as they bid to achieve their first victory in the tournament. The games will take place at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium on Tuesday. Yemen will play Bahrain at 7.30 pm and Qatar will take on Iraq at 10 pm Oman time. In the previous round, Qatar thrashed Yemen 4-0 to lead the group with three points, while Iraq and Bahrain are sharing the second place equally for one point each after they drew 1-1 in an exciting thriller.
All four team managers shared their optimism in the pre-match press conference. Yemen team manager Abraham Mabrato confirmed that he is still looking forward to make a surprise in Kuwait.
“When you come to any tournament you are not participating only but competing to win, this is the mode that me and my team will be carrying on till our last game in this tournament,” Mabrato said.
Mabrato’s counterpart, Bahrain team manager Miroslav Soukup, commented ahead of his game against Yamen: “I’m looking for my first win with Bahrain team, so we prepared for our game against Yemen in the same way as we did against Iraq because we have equal respect for all of our encounters.”
“We have a high motivation to win this game,’’ Soukup added.
The Iraq manager started his press conference saying: “Qatar team is well organised and play in a very structured way, so it will be a difficult game, but we are eyeing the three points”.
“If tomorrow’s game against Qatar ends in a draw, our chances will be difficult to qualify”.
On the other side, the Qatar manager Felix Sanchez was very positive about his team “My players are ready to face Iraq and they have a fiery desire to win.”
“A big win in an opening game is a positive thing and I’m not afraid of the extra confidence because I have a professional team.’’ Abdulkareem al Ali, Qatar national team player, added: “We are ready for the game and we have the strong motivation after scoring three points in the previous game”. Qatar will have a chance to qualify directly to the semifinal if they overcome Iraq, while Bahrain are expected to have no difficulties to defeat Yemen who have never won a match in all Gulf Cup competitions.
Jaber Al Ajmi
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