• Coach Juan Pizzi stressed the team’s mental readiness despite fatigue from their win against UAE. Midfielder Mushari Ghannam emphasized staying grounded while building on positives to keep fans happy.
• Coach Luis Garcia highlighted confidence in his young players stepping up for a must-win match. He acknowledged challenges with injuries and suspensions but praised the team’s recovery and mindset.
• Coach Paulo Bento called for improved efficiency in attack and minimizing mistakes. He remained optimistic about their ability to secure a win against Oman despite external expectations.
•Coach Rasheed Jaber stressed the equal chances for all teams in Group A. He expressed confidence in his team’s improvement and focus to deliver their best performance yet.
Kuwait feeling the football feel-good factor
Kuwait football fans are on cloud nine this week and the head coach said they intend to keep the feel-good factor going when they take on Asian champions Qatar at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium on Friday night.
The Khaleeji Gulf 26 hosts are top of Group A with Oman on four points following Tuesday night’s dramatic 2-1 win over the much-fancied UAE.
The result has seen tickets for the final group match snapped up in record time with a capacity crowd expected to watch The Blues take on a Qatar side that lost to Oman on the same night.
“It was a very difficult match on Tuesday and, of course, the players are tired, but they are optimistic for the match with Qatar,” said Kuwait head coach, Juan Pizzi, at the eve-of-match press conference held at the Crowne Plaza.
“The fans are understandably happy because we beat a very strong UAE national team. The players returned to training yesterday and showed to me their mental readiness. They are focussed for Qatar and we will play tomorrow’s match with the aim to qualify (to the semi-finals).
“There is very little between all eight teams playing here in this tournament, as the match between Yemen and Saudi Arabia showed last night (2-3). We have full respect for all teams here, including Qatar, who are a very good side. I feel whoever has the best physical fitness will win tomorrow’s match.”
Kuwait midfielder Mushari Ghannam said his teammates are feeding off the support of the spectators, but pointed out that they are not getting carried away.
“We are preparing ourselves properly for the match against Qatar,” he said. “They the champions of Asia, a very strong side. But this is the Gulf Cup and it will be different. We will build on the positives from the UAE game, and take care of the negatives to continue to make our Kuwait supporters happy.”
A draw will be enough for Kuwait to finish in the top two and qualify for the semi-finals, with Qatar having to win.
Qatar out to spoil the Kuwait Khaleeji Zain 26 party
Asian champions Qatar intend to spoil Kuwait’s Khaleeji Zain party on Friday night by reaching the semi-finals at the host nation’s expense.
Qatar have just a point from two Group A matches so far, with Kuwait sitting atop with Oman on four points meaning that Qatar must win by two goals to guarantee a passage to the last four.
And at the eve-of-match press conference at the Crowne Plaza, head coach Luis Garcia said it is time for his new-look squad to step-up and be counted.
“It will be a very tough game,” he admitted. “Kuwait are doing really well in front of their fans, but we are confident to do a good match and get this victory to go through to the semi-final.
“We are pleased with the recovery from Tuesday’s match despite the short time. So, I am happy with the fitness and with the mindset of the players which is very important.”
Garcia’s squad rotation has come in for criticism from some quarters back home, with young players given their chance, and he will be missing several senior players through injury and suspension against Kuwait at what is expected to be a sold-out Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
“We have three players injured and suspended which will affect our team because it is a short tournament and not too much time to recover,” said Garcia. “But we have a squad of 26 players and everybody is ready to help the team push to win the match against Kuwait.
“This is a very important tournament for Qatar and our young players because we can check how they perform in a big competition, so it is very important for them to show what they can do. They are doing really well and we are proud of them.
“Football never stops. If we don’t try with the young players now then the future will be a problem. We need to play them. Maybe it is their time?”
Asian footballer of the year Akram Afif is expected to lead the team again and Garcia described him as “a teammate everyone would love to have”.
In Group A’s other match being held at the same time, Oman will take on UAE, who are also on one point and, like Qatar, they have to win.
UAE confident ahead of must-win Oman clash
UAE coach Paulo Bento believes his team can finally live up to their Khaleeji Zain 26 favourites tag by beating neighbours Oman tomorrow night and qualifying for the semi-finals at the Jaber Al-Mubarak International Stadium.
The UAE went into the tournament in Kuwait as many people’s favourites for the title, but Tuesday’s defensive lapses saw them lose 2-1 to the hosts and leave them with just a point from two games, meaning Friday night presents a must-win situation.
Speaking at the eve-of-match press conference at the Crowne Plaza, Bento said: “Mistakes are a part of the game. We made them in all the previous games and we will make mistakes in the next games. We should rise above it and avoid them as much as we can. We fell once, we should get up twice. Normally the people, the press, like to choose the guilty. This is not our job.
“My job is to try to make the team play well. Be better than the opponents. Win three points each game. Until now we have not reached the three points. But in my opinion the performances were not bad. I think we were better than our opponents. In the second game we were not effective in the offensive way because we created a lot of chances to score. We cannot control the expectations of other people. It is not important if people consider us favourites, because I don’t know which reason they have to consider our team favourite. It’s just talk. Let’s focus on the next game and get three points against a team in a better position than us.”
Oman have been the surprise of the tournament so far, showing solid organisation to sit atop Group A with Kuwait on four points. And Bento was full of praise for his opponents.
“Oman is a team that is well organised,” said Bento. “They are working with a coach since October who knew a lot of his players already because he has worked with them before. It’s a team that show good organisation in both phases of the game. He has clear ideas about what they need to do offensively and defensively. They are in a good position. We will find the best solutions. We are optimists to make a good performance and of course try to win this game and go to the semi-final.”
UAE’s match with Oman will be held at the same time as Group B’s other match between Kuwait and Qatar, with the top two advancing.
All to play for in Group A deciders: Oman Coach
Oman coach Rasheed Jaber has warned that all four teams in Group A can still qualify for the Khaleeji Zain 26 semi-finals as he prepares to take on neighbours UAE in Friday’s dramatic final round of matches.
A draw and a victory place Oman equal top of the group with hosts, Kuwait, and tomorrow’s opponents, UAE, will need to win to qualify, but Jaber believes his side are improving with every day they are together and can book a last four spot.
“The chance is equal for all four teams to qualify to the next round so tomorrow it is as if we are starting from zero points,” said Jaber.
“We want to go on and continue in this Gulf Cup, but we need effort and desire which is very important for 90 minutes. I believe the team will qualify and make the best performance yet for the match against UAE who are a very good team with ambition to also win the match.
“But we all have the desire to qualify. We have our players in very good mental shape and we are all concentrating on tomorrow’s match.”
Oman have caught the eye with two solid defensive performances, and looking dangerous on the transition, and the manager believes the best is yet to come.
“Ultimately the result is the most important. I can see our performances are improving day after day, and we will be defined by the result of the match. I am so confident in my players.”
The match against the UAE kicks off at the Jaber Al-Mubarak International Stadium at the same time as the other Group A match between Kuwait and Qatar, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.
