Head coach Felix Sanchez announced the Qatar squad yesterday for the 24th Gulf Cup, with captain Hassan al-Haydos declaring that Al Annabi will be at their best in the prestigious championship.
Qatar is hosting the Gulf Cup for the fourth time and will be gunning for their fourth title, and a grand double to add to their historic AFC Asian Cup title they won in the UAE in February.
Qatar’s previous triumphs came in 1992, 2004 and 2014, and are undoubtedly the strongest contenders among eight Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation teams to lift the title on December 6. Sanchez’s men will start their campaign against Iraq tomorrow at the Khalifa International Stadium, with matches against Yemen and the UAE to follow. Group B comprises defending champions Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Sanchez has kept faith in the core squad that won the Asian Cup, with few youngsters joining the experienced stars. The Spanish coach recalled left back Abdulkarim Hassan, the best player in Asia 2018, who had missed a few matches recently.
Qatar have not had an ideal preparation as they have failed to show their Asian Cup-winning form in the World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers. They struggled to a narrow 1-0 win over a lowly Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, last week. Despite that, Qatar is leading their group, which consists of reigning champions Oman, whom they beat 2-1 at home last month.
Post their victory in Dushanbe, Sanchez chose to give two days of rest to his players, giving them a breather after a hectic league and international schedule, so that they could be fresh for the Gulf Cup challenge at home. Since Friday, the squad has been training at the Aspire Academy, focusing on recovery and fitness. While fatigue would no doubt be an issue, Qatar has enough quality in their ranks to beat any of their rivals.
Captain al-Haydos was hopeful the home fans will get to see top-class performance from his side. “We have finished the Asian Cup qualifiers and are now solely focusing on the Gulf Cup,” he said.
“We have not been at our best recently. But we hope to return to our top form for the Gulf Cup. The championship is being held in Qatar, which will motivate us to raise the bar,” al-Haydos added.
Star striker and the MVP at the Asian Cup Almoez Ali said: “The Gulf Cup is not an easy tournament and the competition will be tough as the teams are very strong. All the matches will be a tight contest but we are ready for the challenge.”

Qatar squad: Saad al-Sheeb, Pedro, Salem al-Hajri, Tariq Salman, Abdulkarim Hassan, Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Bassam al-Rawi, Almoez Ali, Karim Boudiaf, Ismail Hamad, Mohamed Montari, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Salah, Fahd Shanin, Youssef Abdel Razzaq, Musab Khader, Abdul Aziz Hatem, Fahd Younis, Mahdi Ali, Abdullah Abdul Salam, Mohamed Bakri.

Iraq to miss star players
Meanwhile, Iraq will be forced to field a depleted XI for their match against Iraq, with several of the players returning to their club sides. The Iraqi team is hunting for its fourth title, having previously won in 1979, in 1984 and 1988. But their chances this time has taken a severe beating due to the unavailability of several influential players.
Hammam Tariq and Bashar Resen will miss the tournament with their clubs – Ismaily SC of Egypt and Iran’s Persepolis – denying them permission to participate in the tournament. Major League Soccer club Atlanta United has also recalled forward Justin Meram.
The team’s preparation is also affected by the call up of eight international players by the Iraqi Police Club for their match against Mauritania’s Nouadhibou in the Arab Club Championship today.
Iraqi Football Federation member Yahya Kareem said: “The Gulf Cup has put us in a difficult position. The management of the police club insisted on their eight players joining their squad for the Arab Club Championship match. It will greatly affect our chances against Qatar.”
He pointed out that the coaching staff will have to rely on several substitutes. Iraq captain Ahmed Ibrahim, who will take part in the Gulf Cup for the fourth time in a row, said his players will give their best.

Kuwait squad arrive
in Doha
Kuwait squad arrived in Doha yesterday for the Gulf Cup. Head coach Thamer Enad has included 28 players in the squad, with five players to be excluded from the final list after the training session at the Qatar University Stadium today.
Midfielder Talal al-Fadhil is part of the squad after he trained with the team in the last two days.
Al-Fadhil was sidelined with a recent injury that kept him out of the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying match against Nepal last week. Kuwait will kick off their campaign with a Group B match against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.