Miroslav Skop: We are pleased to compete in the Gulf tournament and to play against the top teams.

The coach of the Yemen national team said in the press conference before meeting Saudi Arabia at the opening of its confrontations in the Zain 25 Gulf Cup: “I welcome everyone.” For several reasons, some players have not played international or local friendly matches for a year and a half, and now we are facing the best Gulf teams.

He added: “We went to a camp for five weeks in Egypt, and the players performed the training perfectly. We started with 35 players, and the number was reduced to 23 players. The real level will appear after the first meeting.”

And he emphasized: “I am happy with the return of the championship to Basra after 40 years; everything here is good and promising.”

I drew before with Qatar and Bahrain, but now the players are new, and I have been with them for only 5 weeks. My goal is to give me and the players the opportunity to build a team for the future.

And about his first match against Saudi Arabia: it was a difficult match, even though he was in the second row of the Saudi team, the Asian champion qualified for the Olympics, all Saudi teams in their categories are very distinguished in level, we know their great capabilities, their eagerness to win the title, and we can build a future for the Saudi first team.

Abdul Wasea Al-Matari: “We rely heavily on the enthusiasm of the players.” I have great confidence in my colleagues, and we aspire to achieve the best.