JEDDAH, 27 January 2007 — Saudi Arabia and UAE are both eyeing a piece of history when they face each other in the semifinals today of the 18th Gulf Cup Championship, the region’s premier football competition.
The second semifinal match sends Oman against Bahrain. Both matches will be played in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The UAE team are looking go all the way to their first-ever title in Gulf Cup history and that is not without basis as they are playing their best performance under the same French coach who led Senegal to the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan in their first Cup finals appearance ever.
UAE had a bumpy start after losing the opening match against Oman 2-1. The UAE fans kept the faith in the players and believed that they would qualify for the next round. UAE went all out the next match against Yemen and won by 2-1. In the last match against Kuwait, which was a do-or-die situation, UAE succeeded to defeat the nine-time champions 3-2 in what was described as the best match thus far in championship.
The three-time champions Saudi Arabia, who won in 1994, 2002 and 2003, are in position to score a Gulf Cup quadruple.
The Kingdom had a good start beating Bahrain 2-1 in the opening match. They tied 1-1 against Qatar and secured the game three points in the last match of Group B against Iraq 1-0.
The Saudis are now more dangerous than ever peaking just at the right time. Their strike force of Yaser Al-Qahtani and Malek Muaz is as formidable, but they have to improve their defense and find a way to neutralize the unstoppable Ismail Matar of UAE. In their head-to-head in this tournament, Saudi Arabia hold the edge over UAE winning seven out of 11 and drawing three matches.Saudi Arabia skipped the 1990 tournament in Kuwait and UAE missed the first Gulf Cup held in 1970.
UAE have never won this prestigious event although they came close in 1994 when they were also the hosts and when the Saudi team won for the first time.
Saudi Arabia had many good memories playing in the UAE and they consider the place as a good luck for the team having also won the Asian Cup there in 1996.
It won’t be easy this time for the Saudis who will have to deal with a highly partisan crowd and besides UAE are out to win and not be deprived again of victory on home soil.
Oman and Bahrain are more or less equal in strength but Oman are the odds makers’ favorites to reach the final. Oman swept their Group A matches against UAE, Kuwait and Yemen 2-1. Bahrain’s qualification did not come easy, as it was a result of Saudi Arabia defeating Iraq 1-0 and Bahrain defeating Qatar 2-1 in the matches played at the same time. Like the UAE Bahrain and Oman have never won this tournament.
Oman’s story is unique in the Gulf Cup. Oman used to be the favorite whipping team of everyone. From their first participation in 1974 up until 1988, Oman finished last in all competitions and managed to earn 8 points in all these competitions. They achieved their first win in 1988 against Qatar 2-1. Oman were to win their second in 1998 after a gap of 10 years when they beat Qatar 2-1. The Omani team earned the respect of their Gulf neighbors in 2002 in Saudi Arabia when they wound up fifth in and managed to defeat Kuwait 3-1 in a one sided match that shocked many sport pundits.
Oman’s football performance improved as the country recruited more young blood into the team, and in 2003 they were ready and came in fourth place with two wins against UAE and Qatar 2-1. The year 2004 was the best Gulf Cup finish for Oman as they reached the final for the first time in their history after a spectacular performance but then lost the marathon final match against Qatar 5-4.
