Branko Ivankovic: The plan depends on the opponent, and Al Harthy will not participate

At eleven o’clock in the morning, Iraq time, the press conference was held for the coach of the Oman national team, which precedes the second round match against Yemen in Group A of the twenty-fifth Arabian Gulf Cup in Basra.

About the meeting, Ivankovic commented: “I welcome you.” You noticed in the difficult first match that everyone is fighting, and every meeting is important and a new opportunity. On paper, we are better, but the opponent cannot be underestimated. We will perform the best. Yemen created opportunities against Saudi Arabia, and we will maintain our focus to win. Amjad Al-Harthy will miss the injury, but the rest are ready.

And about the participation of Salah Al-Yahyaei, he said: “After the last training, we will decide the squad, and Al-Yahyaei is ready.”

And when asked about the tactic of meeting Yemen and whether Al-Musalmi will be essential, I replied, “Of course we always attack, and sometimes we retreat depending on the opponent.” In the first match, we did not have the opportunity to attack because of the opponent, and Al-Musalmi is a very important player inside and outside the field.

And about what Branco fears in order to achieve the title: “We do not fear anyone, we respect everyone, and we will not have an obstacle.” The championship is strong, all the teams performed well, and they have ambition. Our ambition is also very high. We know our capabilities, and we take each meeting separately. Our goal is to make the Omani public happy.

On the difficulty of tomorrow’s match, with the difference in capabilities between the two teams, Al-Muslimi said: “There is no easy match.”

Regarding the public’s dissatisfaction with the result of the first match and its reading of Yemen, I respect Yemen a lot, I care about the performance of my team, and the value of Iraq cannot be underestimated. I hope to continue the same performance, and I am interested in information about the competitor.

And when asked about his opinion about the loss to the Emirates yesterday, and he who showed his admiration for him four times, he said: “Each meeting has its own circumstances; it could have reflected the result.” Even in the Iraq match, it was possible for us to win or for Iraq to win; there is no easy opponent.

While Muhammad Al-Muslimi commented: “The opening match was difficult, the point was positive, and we respect the Yemeni national team, but our ambition is great and we seek the three points.”