Iraq became the first team to qualify for the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup semi-finals on Friday with an easy 2-0 win over the UAE, but coach Sercko Katanec was not too pleased with his team’s performance.
The Slovenian is a hard task master and is not someone who is easily swayed by a victory or two. Iraq’s win against the UAE was their second consecutive win in the tournament, after they had shocked hosts Qatar 2-1 with a second string side in their opening match.
“We got three important points. That is all what I can say after the game, but I am not happy with the performance because we did not play properly. My players played at a slow pace and committed lot of errors. The fitness also was not up to the standard. But the important thing is that we won this match,” Katanec said.
The Iraq coach revealed he would rotate his squad for the match against Yemen Monday, due to a short gap between matches. Katanec, though, stressed the importance of the last group match.
“I may make some changes against Yemen because the game will not affect the qualification of Iraq. But that is not to underestimate the value of the Yemeni team. It is an opportunity to rest some players and give a chance to other players,” he said.
“The Yemen team is looking to bounce back after two defeats. They have good players and if you are not ready, they will punish you,” he added.
On the injury of defender Saad Natiq, Katanec said: “He suffered a broken nose against UAE. I hope that he will be ready for the rest of the tournament, if not then we will have to find an appropriate replacement.”
Iraq coach was also disappointed with the leak of team XI before the UAE match, calling it unprofessional. 
“I have no answer, I’m sorry I cannot do anything about this. I respect my work but because of some journalists and social media these things happen, I do not care about that,” the plain-speaking Katanec said.  
Meanwhile, midfielder Mohamed Qasim, who scored a brace against Qatar, was looking forward to score more goals. 
“It was nice to score against Qatar as they are a top team. I would like to find the net more and help my team win matches. Every game we play we aspire to win it and it would be no different against Yemen tomorrow,” he said.
“We have a chance to win three successive matches and qualify as table toppers. So it is an important match and we will play befitting the reputation of the Iraqi team,” Qasim added.