Bahrain, who are looking for a historic first title at the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, will take on the only undefeated team in the tourney, Iraq, in the first semi-final at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium today.
The Bahraini team is one of the founders of the Gulf Cup and has finished as runners-up four times, even as a win has eluded them in all these years.
Confident Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa feels his side is new but they can go further ahead in the tournament.
“Yes we are ready for Iraq. After preparing for a whole month we have reached the semi-finals and we can reach beyond that,” Sousa said yesterday.
Bahrain opened their 2019 Gulf Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Oman, which was followed by a 2-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia before their heroics against Kuwait.
Iraq stunned hosts and Asian champions Qatar 2-1, before beating last edition’s runners-up the United Arab Emirates 2-0. They then played out a goalless draw with Yemen with Srecko Katanec’s side playing with 10 men for more than 80 minutes of the match.
Sousa took charge of Bahrain following the departure of Czech Miroslav Soukup, who had guided the nation to the knockout phases of the AFC Asian Cup. The early signs from the 50-year old coach have been impressive as he helped Bahrain win the 2019 WAFF Championships in Iraq, along with a strong start to qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Bahrain defeated hosts Iraq 1-0 in the WAFF Championships final.
The Portuguese coach also thinks that the Iraq match will be a learning process for his new team.
“At the moment they are one of the best teams in Asia while we are building a new team and we must keep growing to compete with such strong teams,” he said.
The two met twice in Group C of the Asian Qualifiers, with both matches ending in draws.
The fifth meeting in the semi-final has its importance in the context of the tournament, but as far as Sousa is concerned, it is the long term that matters.
Reacting to Bahrain’s defensive style of play, Sousa said: “When we don’t get to have the ball we have to defend; when we have the ball we attack. We scored four goals against Kuwait and had more chances. We will try to do our best and show the quality of our players. We are playing one of the best teams in Asia and that’s a great experience.”
He also said the defensive approach gives them an edge against the opposition, and it also helps them attack better. He added that defending is an important art of the game and his team uses it effectively.
It’s been 31 years since Iraq, the host of the next edition of the Gulf Cup, last lifted the title. The three-time champions last won in 1988, having won in 1979 and 1984 as well.
Katanec has high regards for his side’s opponents.
“They are a good team with good players. They make good defence. They have players who can surprise you. They beat Iran recently. So I respect them and we will try to play our game,” he said, referring to Bahrain’s 1-0 win over Iran in the World Cup qualifier in October.
Commenting over his team’s defeat in West Asia final he said that is in the past. “Every game is a new game. Their victory over us is in the past now. This is a new tournament and we have our game plan for it,” he said.
“All the players are working towards the same objective and hope we make it. The thing with Iraq is the spirit we have. We are here to win the game. The players know what I want from them and within 90 minutes we must work as a team,” the Slovenian said.
Katanec also urged match referees to reduce the use of VAR.
“They must make decisions themselves to show their character. I am not against the VAR technology but it ruins the flavour of the game.”
Lions of Mesopotamia will be without Mustafa Mohamed Jaber who was shown a red card after video referral following a high boot challenge on Yemen’s Aiman al-Hagri in their last group match.