Gulf Cup final up for grabs as Qatar square up against Saudi Arabia in last-four clash today
Football fans are in for a night of enthralling encounters as four of the biggest teams in the region go up against each other in the semi-finals of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup today.
While Asian Champions Qatar will square up against regional rival Saudi Arabia at the newly-built Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah by 8:00 pm local time, giant-killers Iraq, on the other hand, take on Bahrain, who have never won the championship since it started in 1970, at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Duhail with the kick-off set at 5:30 pm local time.
For high-flying Qatar, a dream of making history as the first country to win the region’s biggest football competition for a record three-time as hosts remains firmly on course, and they are expected to go out firing from all cylinders as they engage the coach Hervé Renard’s side, who trounced defending champions Oman 3-1 in their last match to emerge as the leader in Group B of the eight-team championship.
"At this point in the competition, you cannot make mistakes, we are playing against a strong team, we will try to play our game, we have our strengths and we will do our best to get a strong result. At this point, every game is a final if you lose you will be out so we have to be at our best," Qatar’s coach Felix Sanchez said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
The Barcelona-born coach who led the Al Annabi stars to their first continental title in February added that the team is focused on playing at a very high level and are ready to give their blood, sweat, and tears to the task ahead.
Historically, the matches between the two sides have always produced firecrackers on the field of play.
Today’s match will be the 41st encounter between the two teams and of the previous 40, the Green Falcons hold a superior advantage over their Qatari neighbors having won 17 and drawn 16 games while Qatar have secured victory only on seven occasions with the last being the 2-0 mauling of the Saudis during the group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup.
The two sides’ path to the last four of this tournament followed almost the same route with both teams losing their opening encounters only to bounce back with wins in the last two matches.
While Qatar was stunned by Iraq, who fielded a second-string side, on tournament's opening day, Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, suffered a 3-1 defeat in the hands of ten-time champions Kuwait.
Newly-crowned Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif, who has been in superb form and scored a brace against the UAE en route the semis, is expected to hold all the aces for Qatar with Abdelkarim Hassan, the hat-trick hero against Yemen, Almoez Ali and captain Hassan al-Haydos playing a key part.
The Saudis, on the other hand, will be relying on eight players from Al Hilal, which won the AFC Champions League last month, to hopefully upset Qatar's apple cart.
Hattan Bahebri and Salem al-Dawsari will pose problems upfront, while winger Salem Mohamed al-Dosari has also been in good form.
"It is good to face a strong team who are the Asian champions. We have an excellent team and good players. I know Qatar are doing well and are a capable team. We always have a special conversation with the players before the games, when you are the coach you think about your team and your opponent. We are playing the champions of Asia but they also have to respect Saudi Arabia, it will be difficult for us but we have prepared well," said Renard, who is the first coach to win two African Cup of Nations championships with different countries having led Zambia and Ivory Coast to the title in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
Meanwhile, it will be a match against a constant and familiar foe as Bahrain takes on three-time champions Iraq as today’s clash will be the fourth encounter between the sides since August.
The coach Helio Sousa side had secured a 1-0 victory against the Lions of Mesopotamia during their West Asian Football Federation Championship clash played on August 14 before being held to a draw in the next two - the joint-qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in September and November respectively.
The Portuguese tactician will no doubt have his work cut out for him as he faces the so-far-undefeated Iraqis today.
"We are preparing knowing that we are playing against one great team. Everyone knows what the Iraqis are capable of doing at this tournament and we are preparing against them as best as we can. We will do well for sure. We are now among the top four teams in the tournament and we are very proud," the 50-year-old former Vitória Setúbal central midfielder said.
The winning teams from these two matches will face each other for finals scheduled to be held on December 8, Sunday at the Khalifa International Stadium.
This is the fourth time Doha is hosting the regional tournament.
--
Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content.
Instagram - @qatarliving
Twitter - @qatarliving
Facebook - Qatar Living
