Saudi Arabia takes on Iraq and Oman meets Yemen in ‘Gulf 25’

The Saudi national team is looking forward to pre-booking their place in the semi-finals of the Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 25) when they play a tough matchup against ground owner Iraq and the fans, in the second round of the first group, Monday.

The Saudi team, nicknamed ‘The Greens’, resumed training in Basra, following a 2-0 win against Yemen in the first round and topped the group after a goalless draw between Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman in the match opening last Friday.

Saad Al-Shehri, coach of the second Saudi team, divided the players into two groups: the first, which included those who participated in the starting line-up, had a test at the mission residence.

The other group conducted a training session on the second pitch of the Basra stadium, which focused on cross shooting and passing.

On Sunday the team will continue training in view of Monday’s match against the hosts in the second leg of the first group.

Saad Al-Nasser, the Saudi player, said about facing Iraq: The Iraqi team has a great history and we are ready to face it.

The victory guarantees the Saudi national team an early qualification for the semi-finals before the last round against Oman, as they will increase their points to six points compared to one point for the hosts from two games.

Spain’s Jesus Casas, coach of Iraq, said after the draw with Oman that his side dominated the match despite a lack of chances on either side.

He added: We are not here to play just one game. A draw is not a bad result and a first step in the tournament, even if it is the beginning of the road towards our main goal towards qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

After a draw with Iraq in the opener, the Omani team aspires to win and pick up three points against Yemen to boost its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, especially after Yemen’s modest performance against Saudi Arabia.

The Oman national team trained last night with the players participating in the starting lineup in front of the ground owner, while the rest of the players carried out various regular exercises on the ground of Al-Fayhaa Stadium in the Sports City which is lasted two hours.

Oman coach Branko Ivankovic said on Twitter that the players were impressed by the atmosphere against Iraq, which will change against Yemen.

He has made it clear that he does not want to take the risk of paying Salah Al-Yahyaei after his return from injury and hopes he will be ready to participate against Yemen. He also hoped Amjad Al-Harthy’s injury would go smoothly.

The Yemeni team will become the first to leave the tournament if they lose against Oman tomorrow, as they will be without credit for two games.