The Peninsula
The 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar will go down as one of the most thrilling editions in the tournament’s 49-year-old history and it will remain as the most memorable competition for title-winning Bahrain.
Bahrain, dubbed ‘The Reds’ played the finals in 1970, 1982, 1992 and 2003 but it was only on Sunday, they finally succeeded in winning the coveted trophy for the first time after edging hot favourites Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final.
Mohamed Al Rumaihi’s goal in the second half sealed the victory in the thrilling final, culminating a spirited campaign by Bahrain, who fought back from a brink of an early exit from the tournament.
Bahrain were never the front-runners for the title and started the final against coach Herve Renard’s side as underdogs, but a gutsy performance and with luck on their side they were able to win their maiden crown.
“It’s a historic triumph which deserves celebration,” Bahrain coach Helio Sousa said after the win against Saudis to whom there were beaten 2-0 in the group stage.
“I congratulate the Bahraini people on this achievement, congratulate our players on this heroic performance. Our goal is to continue to achieve good results, and to make our way in the double qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, and Asia 2023,” he added.
“This victory is a result of sheer hard work by our entire team the officials, coaches and the players. We prepared a team in five months which can compete for the titles. We have fighter players who have the potential to do well at any stage,” said the Portuguese, under who the team also clinched their first 2019 WAFF Championship title in August.
Sousa, who fielded the entire new team to start the title clash after their semi-final win against Iraq on penalties, said he trusted each of his players.
“It was not a gamble. I trusted each of my 23 players and for me each one of them is vital and they proved it in the final,” he said.
He said beating Saudi Arabia, who created many chances in the game, was never easy.
“My players faced Saudi Arabia with confidence and secured a well-deserved victory,” Sousa said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia coach Renard congratulated Bahrain on the triumph, saying missed penalty cost his team dearly.
“We lost a penalty kick, and another ball in the crossbar with the start of the first half. It is all part of football. We put pressure on Bahrain but they managed to score the goal and did well in defense to hold the lead,” said the Frenchman.
“We tried to change the course of the match after Bahrain’s first goal, but the intermittent stopping of the match killed the game. The Bahraini team tried to break any escalation in performance by stopping the game. This was their strategy, and they succeeded in the end in getting what they wanted,” Renard said.
Bahrain became the seventh side to win the regional event, with 10-time champions Kuwait being the most successful nation.
Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have three titles each while United Arab Emirates and Oman have won the event a couple of times. The next edition of the tournament will be held in Iraq in 2021.