Ahmed Eltigani
With the opening day fixtures of the 24th Arabian
Gulf Cup settled, Group B is set to step into the spotlight today and 4 more
teams will compete for a chance to lift the prestigious cup. On the opening
day, Iraq exited the stadium with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over hosts Qatar,
while the UAE came out on top with a 3-0 win over Yemen.
Today’s Group B fixtures will kick off with defending
champions Oman taking a stand against the Bahraini team at 17.00 Doha Time,
followed by a clash between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait at 20:00; both matches will
be held at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Oman versus Bahrain is sure to be an intense match up, with
two-time winners Oman looking to defend their title as Gulf Cup champions from the last tournament against their Bahraini counterparts. Bahrain will be
looking for their first cup championship, as they fought hard over the years
and were runners up four times but never managed to secure the trophy.
Erwin Koeman, the coach of the Oman national team said in a
pre-match press conference “We are ready and we have been well trained and have
done the necessary work in the past days. Our last training was this morning
and we have high expectations and positive energy for defending the title, and
we are ready for the competition.”
In their previous 14 meetings, Oman stands dominant with five victories,
while Bahrain has picked up just one win; the remaining eight matches ended in
a draw. Both teams have also clashed in the Gulf Cup and are sure to know each one’s
strengths and weaknesses setting up an intriguing game at the Abdullah bin
Khalifa Stadium.