Branko: The three points are the most important, and I was not surprised by Yemen’s performance

After the end of the Oman-Yemen match, which ended with Oman winning 3:2, a press conference was held for Oman’s Croatian national team coach, Branko Ivankovic.
And he spoke, saying: “I congratulate the players on the victory.” We expected a difficult match. Yemen had nothing to lose, and our task was the three points. We came back after being late, and this is what we benefited from. The victory is very important. The last few minutes lacked focus, but in the end we achieved victory. Unfortunately, we lost today, Mahmoud. After losing Amjad at the end of the tournament,

Salah Al Yahyai commented: “The most important thing is that we won.” Yemen is a stubborn team, and we hope for a better performance in the next match.

And when asked about the Saudi meeting after today’s performance and the loss of the players, I said, “Satisfied with the performance, it is not easy to be a candidate who puts us under the pressure of the stadium conditions.” I expect a difficult meeting with Saudi Arabia. All teams are difficult, and all confrontations are difficult. They participated in the World Cup with Bahrain, the defending champion, and the Emirates, and the important thing is that the tournament gave players experience for the future.

And about the case of Al-Mushaifari and Amjad: Amjad will not complete the tournament, and Mahmoud is waiting for the report, but he will not be present in the Saudi match.

Regarding Arshad’s choice of the penalty kick and the absence of offensive solutions, Branko said: “I decided to present Arshad because he shoots well.”

And about the negatives of the full backs and midfield: the full backs tried to participate if the opportunity arose, and the midfield players had difficulty due to the rain and the positioning of the opponent players.

And about the Yemeni national team and its level today, and did I surprise him? I was not surprised when I watched the Saudi match and the opportunities they created; four chances were achieved, but conceding two goals was not easy. They are well dressed, a fighting team, and their spread is good.