The 24th Gulf Cup, which began yesterday in Doha, is touted to be a close contest. While Asian Champions Qatar will be the frontrunners for the title, Saudi Arabia will pose a tough challenge for the hosts.
Saudi have won the Gulf Cup three times, but the last of it came in 2003, a drought Herve Renard’s side will be keen to bring an end to. They begin their campaign today against Kuwait at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, with Renard hopeful of a good start despite having limited time to prepare for the big event.
Eight of his players were part of the Al Hilal squad which won the AFC Champions League title on Sunday, and reported to national duty only yesterday.
They also had to tinker with the squad at the eleventh hour after Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed al-Owais and Al Nasr defender Abdullah Mado were forced out due to injury.
Renard said it was important for his side to win against Kuwait today. “We are happy to participate in this tournament, although the Hilal players have joined late, yet we will try to give out best,” the Frenchman said yesterday.
“We know we will play against a good team and we have to be ready for tomorrow’s game which is the most important for us in the tournament despite some absences of key players. But we will try to provide a good picture of Saudi football,” he added.
Saudi have not had happy memories recently in big tournaments. At the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year, they were knocked out in the last 16 by Japan, and finished bottom of their group in the 2019 WAFF Championship without a win to show, albeit with second string players.
But since then their fortunes have improved. They are undefeated in the World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers and come into the Gulf Cup as one of the fancied teams. Renard will be heavily dependent on eight Hilal players, with winger Salem al-Dawsari set to be the key man.
“We are a good defensive side but offensively we are not that fantastic. At this time, we trained with 12 players and a goalkeeper but I expect every player to be ready for the competition,” said Renard, who has in the past taken Zambia and Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations glory.
“We came to know about the participation in the Gulf Cup after the game against Uzbekistan, where we put in an outstanding performance to win the match. Later we drew against Paraguay without the Hilal players and we provided a good defensive performance,” he added.
Kuwait, meanwhile, have won the Gulf Cup ten times, the highest among eight teams. But their glory days are well past them, with their last triumph achieved in 2010.
Thamer Enad’s side have three victories in the World and Asian Cup qualifiers and will be aiming to continue their fine form against the Saudis. Kuwait have a formidable squad led by forwards Bader al-Mutawa and Yousef Nasser, who can unlock any defence on their best day.
Enad was upbeat about Kuwait’s chances in the tournament and said his side had prepared well. “We started training about two months ago for the World Cup qualifiers and have played three games. So our preparations have been good and we are ready for the Gulf Cup,” he said.
“All eight teams have an equal chance of qualifying for the final. This is a great tournament and I’ve also played in this. There is pressure from fans and media but we enjoy it,” Enad added.