DUBAI: Saudi national team forward Firas Al-Buraikan has expressed his pride at winning the 2026 Arabian Gulf Cup and said that the Green Falcons have plans to achieve greater success.

Saudi Arabia defeated the UAE 2-0 on Tuesday night at Jeddah’s Al-Inma Stadium to claim a first title in the cup since 2004.

“Representing your country’s national team is an honor and a source of pride, and we in the future will be better,” Al-Buraikan told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The tournament’s joint top scorer with three goals spoke of the challenges the team faced and said the players are now looking forward to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which will also be held in the Kingdom.

“The entire tournament was difficult, but we made it easier. Everyone aspired to achieve it, and we succeeded in doing that, and we still have another tournament ahead of us that we are striving for, God willing.”

When asked about his most cherished goal in the tournament, Al-Buraikan initially chose his goal against Oman, before changing his answer with a smile and saying: “I tell you … the tournament is the most beautiful.”

Meanwhile, Saudi defender Nawaf Boushal revealed that winning the Gulf Cup holds a different value for him than other titles he has achieved during his career.

“When you bring joy to your country, it’s a different story. Thank God, the Saudi people deserve this great joy, and God willing, this will be the beginning of good things to come, and the future will be even better,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The title ended a long wait for a generation of Saudi fans to claim a regional or continental title.

“The previous generations of players did not fall short, but success was not written for them,” Boushal said. “God has written success for us, and we have contributed to making an entire nation happy, and God willing, this will be the beginning of good things.”

Boushal added that the desire to win the title was clear among the players since the start of their training camp ahead of the tournament. 

“From the first day we came to the camp, our focus and goal were clear; to reach the final and win the cup. We did not come just to participate, especially since the tournament is being held on our home ground and among our fans.

“The focus was high, and we set winning the championship as our goal from the beginning, especially since we had been away from winning championships and from making our fans happy for a long time, and thank God that God has honored us today.”

The defender also had special praise for Greek head coach Georgios Donis and his staff.

“Donis is a great coach, and he brought great joy to the people. He has experience in Saudi Arabia, knows the players and knows us well. He gave us confidence, as did the technical and medical staff, and all the officials in the national team. No one fell short with us,” he said.

“To make the people of an entire country happy, that is the most beautiful moment.”