Defending champs Qatar eager to start Gulf Cup campaign with a win
KUWAIT CITY, December 23, 2017 - Qatar coach Felix Sanchez yesterday sounded upbeat ahead of his team's Gulf Cup opener against Yemen on Saturday, saying his young side is confident of getting the three points. Qatar, the defending champions, face Yemen at the Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. In another match on Saturday, Bahrain face Iraq in another Group B clash.
The 23rd edition of the Gulf Cup - the region's most popular football event for national sides - has Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and hosts Kuwait in Group A.
"We are looking forward to our first game. We have prepared well. We know it pays well when you start well in a tournament. So we are looking at our first game with intention of winning it," Sanchez told a packed media conference yesterday.
"When you make a good start, you usually do well and settle into a nice rhythm. The players have been working very hard. They want to play a good tournament. We have the potential (to dominate)," the Spaniard added.
"All the players we have here are obviously the best ones we have. All the players involved in the squad are very motivated to do well. We are the defending champions. We want to compete hard against what are very good teams.
"The standard is high and we are looking forward to starting positively. The confidence is high since the players know we are the defending champions," he said.
When asked to comment on the Yemen team, Sanchez said: "Yemen is a good side. I would say they have a group of talented players, They have some brilliant individual players. They have our respect. They are a fine bunch of players. We will try to attack early."
He added: "Our ambition is to play a very good game against Yemen and then get a good result also. We want to start with three points. Then we will think about the next game. We will go step by step in this tournament.
"We are very motivated because we are proud champions of this tournament. It is a tough competition. Players are raring to go. Hopefully we will get the results we are looking at," Sanchez said.
Yemen's Ethiopian coach Abraham Mebratu said his team has prepared to spring a surprise.
"As you know, we have not won a game in Gulf Cup. That is history but we are here to make new history. For the match against Qatar, we are ready," Mebratu said. "We are here to make new history for Yemen. We want to make people happy," he added.
"The group is strong for me. Qatar ended up playing the 2018 World Cup qualifying matches. They also have great experience of playing and doing well in the Gulf Cup tournaments. We respect them. But remember there are no small teams in football," he said.
"National teams can do well and they do well. We can do well too. My players are very optimistic. We want to get the first three points in this tournament. My boys are in a good shape. During our last Asian participation, we played seven games and did not lose a single match. They know how to win. They know what it means to win. They are in a very good mood," Mebratu said.
After their game on Saturday, Qatar take on Iraq (Dec 26) followed by a game against Bahrain (Dec 29).
Qatar squad: Saeed Al Shaeb, Yousuf Hasan, Mohamed Al Kubri, Pedro Miguel, Assim Madibo, Akram Afif, Hassan Al Haydos (captain), Almoez Ali, Abdullah Al Harq, Bassam Al Rawi, Al Mahdi Ali, Abdulkarem Salim, Ahmed Fatehi, Hamad Al Obaidi, Mohammed Muntari, Ahmed Yasser, Ali Fareeuddin, Abdulkarem Hassan, Musab Kheder, Ismail Mohammad, Karim Boudiaf, Othman Al Yahri and Ahmed Moein.
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