Saudi Arabia and Qatar continue the challenge in the Gulf championships
The South Stadium will witness an awaited showdown between Saudi Arabia and the host Qatar national team at 8:00 p.m. in the 24th quarter-final of the Gulf Cup.
Thursday’s confrontation is an extension of the challenge between the two parties in various regional and continental championships.
Saudi Arabia is led by a French coach and Qatar by a Spanish coach. The fans are invited at the South Stadium to watch a very unique quality of the players. Many players faced the AFC Champions League through confrontations of Al Sadd with the poles of Riyadh City Al Hilal and Al Nasr in the 2019 AFC Champions League. The common denominator between the two teams – their ascending format as they are walking within the championships.
The Qatari team, which relies heavily on the homogeneity and interdependence of its players, hopes this time with a new joy after the Asian crown. However, before reaching the final of the Gulf, they have to climb the green wall. Al-Adam as their fans like to call, relies very much on the trio of Hassan Alhidos, Akram Afif and Muizz Ali in front to annoy the defenses of Saudi Arabia, the experience of Khoki Boualem and the skill of Tariq Salman in defense.
The Annabi’s coach Sanchez stressing the difficulty of the confrontation, said: “The game is certainly difficult, and we will enter it with great hope. We know the level of the opponent, and we are confident in our players. We are ready to perform well, and these games do not accept divisions by two.”
As the Saudi team develops and shines from one game to another in this tournament, this may exhaust the thinking of Qatari coach Felix Sanchez. The Green Falcons led by Frenchman Hervé Renard rely on a wider number of players than the rival in the south. Renard may miss two active players in this match who are leaders – Salman Al- Faraj and Salem Al-Dosari. However, the other options are equally important, most notably Mohammed Kanoo, Abdul Fattah Asiri and AbduIlah Al-Maliki. Due to this a difficult confrontation remains between the two sides. French Renard played down the impact of the audience supportive to Al-Adaam as he said:
“There is no specific pressure. We are very happy to play in this magnificent stadium, and always prefer to play in front of a large number of fans, so we are excited. We have a big and enthusiastic team as well as Qatar.”
The confrontation of the South is an extension of the intense competition between the two sides. On the general level, the 1997 confrontation in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers in Doha is the most famous of the two teams, as well as the conclusion of Gulf 15 in Riyadh 2002 and the final Gulf 22 in Riyadh.
On the general level, the two teams met 21 times in the Gulf Championships. Saudi Arabia excelled in the overall, and once they faced each other in the elimination phase of the Gulf 22 finals. Qatar then excelled 2-1 and was crowned their third Gulf title.