Koeman: Our goal is to reach the semi-finals

In his first appearance at the Gulf Championships, Dutch coach Erwin Koeman confirmed his team’s ability to provide a good tournament as a title holder.

“We are ready and we have been well trained and have done the necessary work in the past days of this tournament, and our last training was this morning and we have high expectations and positive energy for defending the title, and we are ready for the competition”, he stated at the pre-match press conference against Bahrain in the 24th Gulf.

“Winning the tournament depends on several factors, including luck, but we will try to focus on the Bahrain game first and then talk about other things.”

As for the pressures and the ability of the Omani team to qualify for the second round, Koeman said: “There is no pressure at all, and I am working to raise the pressure if it exists. I trust the players and the strength of the Omani lies in its cohesion and I am happy here to defend the title and my first goal is to get to the semi-finals in this version.”

As for the frequent changes in the team during the Asian qualifiers: “Sometimes you need some changes for several conditions such as injury, recycling and other conditions and this is present in all teams. I made five changes in the last period. I trust all the players and I know everything in my team, and everything I do I know its consequences well.”

“I have been with the Omani team for nine months and I am happy with what the players have been doing, and the team has been doing well in the last period and focused on the physical side because it is important in delivering a very high performance, and we have to find solutions to improve the level of players.”