Tribune News Network
Kuwait
In an exciting final Group B clash of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup at the Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Stadium on Friday, Oman will take on UAE, who are also on one point and, like Qatar, they have to win.
UAE coach Paulo Bento believes his team can finally live up to their favourites tag by beating neighbours Oman and qualifying for the semi-finals on a double-header night.
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.
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.”
He added: “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.”
Meanwhile, Oman coach Rasheed Jaber warned that all four teams in Group A can still qualify for the semi-finals. 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.”
