The World Cup may still be very fresh in the memory, but for football fans in the GCC there is another football tournament to be played. The 25th Arab Gulf Cup in Iraq begins on Friday with eight teams from the region battling for the title.
The tournament will be played in two venues: Basra International Stadium and Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium. Action begins with the host nation’s clash against Oman on January 6 and concludes with the final on January 19.
Here are eight talking points, one for each competing nation, ahead of the big kick-off.
Group A
Saad Al-Shehri and the young stars of Saudi Arabia can work their magic again
With the Saudi Professional League halted for two months so the Green Falcons could prepare for the World Cup – and sensationally beat champions Argentina – it was always unlikely that there would be another break for clubs to offload their players. their stars so soon after.
This may make a first title win since 2004 less likely, especially as other teams have named experienced squads, but it will give young and young players the chance to shine. . Turki Al-Ammar is one of the few who has played at the top level and the 2018 Asian Young Footballer of the Year played when the U-23s won the Asian Championship and has the chance to do so once again.
With the same coach, Saad Al-Shehri, in place over the coming weeks and looking to cement a growing reputation, Saudi Arabia will be able to get the necessary tests against hosts Yemen, Oman and Iraq.
Iraq wants stability on and off the field
Last year was a disappointment for Iraq, as they struggled in the final round of World Cup qualifiers, and there have been a number of coaches who have come and gone.
Now they have a chance to start 2023 in style both on and off the pitch.
The last and only time the country hosted the Gulf Cup was in 1979 and their most recent victory in the tournament came nine years later. Success off the field is just as important as success on it, but both will give football a boost in the country. With Basra hosting the games and new Spanish coach Jesus Casas calling on talented and highly experienced players, expectations are high.
The likes of Hussein Ali, Dhurgam Ismail, Amjad Attwad and Gothenburg midfielder Amir Al-Ammari have what it takes to lead Iraq in the latter stages and deliver some much-needed good news for the fans.
Oman can show that they are among the top dogs in the region
After Saudi Arabia, Oman was the best-performing Arab team in the final stage of the road to Qatar, finishing just one point behind Australia, a team that narrowly lost out to winners Argentina in the second round of Qatar 2022.
If the Reds had been in the other group last time, then they could have gone all the way. Now they are in Group A, Branko Ivankovic’s men are one of the favorites and not least since they won the tournament before the end.
Like his counterpart in Iraq, the wily Croatian coach has named a strong and experienced squad and there is no better time to show that the results in the World Cup qualifiers were no fluke.
Energetic Yemen in search of first victory
The Eagles are preparing for their 10th Gulf Cup appearance and are looking for their first ever win. It won’t be easy for a team that hasn’t played a game since the first half of 2022.
Preparations are difficult even in a country that has been ravaged by war for years. A training camp in Saudi Arabia has helped and there has been time in Egypt as well.
Coach Miroslav Soukup has spent years in the region and is now in his second spell in charge. He’s gone for the youngsters with half the squad 25 and under and it should be a great experience, and if they can win, so much the better.
Group B
Qatar must start a new era at a high level
Everyone knows that the World Cup was a disaster for the host nation with three losses out of three. There was a sense that coach Felix Sanchez had put too much faith in the side that won the 2019 Asian Cup and there was an expectation that the Spaniard would not continue when his contract expired on the final day of 2022, and so it did. .
The pressure at the World Cup was too much, but now, at least temporarily, it is the responsibility of Portuguese tactician Bruno Pinheiro, who is without the likes of Hassan Al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali and several others. It leaves room for new blood to restore pride to Qatari football.
The United Arab Emirates is on its way to 2026
The UAE had to sit back and watch the World Cup in Qatar with all the surprise and shock of knowing they could have been there after narrowly missing out on a play-off against Australia. While they could be there, the “should” is another matter as, in truth, the UAE were poor throughout the qualifying campaign.
Now that coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena has had more time with the team, there must be a long-term vision, with more than eight Asian teams qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The likes of Ali Mabkhout and Omar Abdulrahman, the stars of the so-called golden generation from the past decade, are out but there is still plenty of talent in the squad. The group looks competitive but winnable and with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and even Oman eclipsing the UAE in recent years, there is some pressure to succeed in Basra, but a first World Cup appearance since 1990 remains the main prize.
Kuwait must bounce back from the lean year of 2022
Kuwait has won 10 of the 24 Gulf Cups, but in recent years this former soccer powerhouse in Asia – the entire continent, not just the west – has fallen behind teams it once routinely beat. World Cup qualification was an expected failure, but not reaching the 2023 Asian Cup was truly disappointing, especially losing at home to a young Indonesian team.
This led to Rui Bento taking the reins, a third Portuguese coach in the group. There is no more Bader Al-Mutawa – the 37-year-old talisman is the most capped international player in history – and the Blues need to move on from that era but are still searching for an identity.
Bento has gone for the youth and there is a feeling that this is the beginning of a new journey for Kuwait.
Bahrain looking to defend their title
Bahrain may not have the glittering history of Kuwait, but they arrive in Iraq as defending champions. The win over Saudi Arabia in 2019 will never be forgotten and it should also be noted that the team reached the last 16 of the Asian Cup in the same year they were narrowly beaten by South Korea. After a disappointing period, things were looking up.
Then came COVID-19 and the momentum stopped. Coach Helio Sousa has been in charge for almost four years and, despite a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign, the team is determined, experienced and more inventive on the ball than many of their neighbours. Having shown they can upset bigger nations earlier in this tournament, Bahrain cannot be counted out.
