ShareKUWAIT: Kuwait head coach Juan Pizzi is giving nothing away ahead of the mammoth Khaleeji Zain 26 semifinal face-off with his former employers Bahrain on Tuesday night (kick off 8:45 pm).
A capacity of 57,000 crowd is expected at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium to watch the host nation come up against a Bahrain team that has impressed in Kuwait, but lost their last Group B encounter to Yemen.
Pizzi was national manager of Bahrain prior to taking up his post in Kuwait in the summer, so he knows his opposition players well, but he was keeping his cards close to his chest at the eve-of-match press conference.
“Every team has positive and negatives, and we have analyzed their team but I will not share my style of play here today or give anything away,” he said. “What I can say is that we will fight in order to achieve the best result for Kuwait.”
Kuwait will be without suspended star midfielder Ahmed Al-Dhefiri for the match, but Pizzi said his squad has prepared well and is confident of advancing towards another final and their 11th Gulf title with the passionate support from the fans.
“The fans have been right behind us and we call on them to support the national team against who will give their best on the field,” said Pizzi, adding that his team has shown “big development” in the six months that he has been in charge.
Bahrain had the luxury of resting key players for their defeat against Yemen, having already qualified with two previous victories, and Pizzi accepts this is an advantage for them.
“We have had three days of rest, although there has been the big pressure of the matches to date on my players. Bahrain have an advantage of resting players at the last game, but we are very optimistic and share the fans hopes for a positive result,” he said. In the earlier semi-final on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia will face Oman at the Jaber Al-Mubarak International Stadium (5:30 pm).
Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic believes he can outfox his predecessor Juan Pizzi who is now in charge of the Kuwait side that he faces in the semi-final of the Khaleeji Zain 26 tonight at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium (kick off 8:45 pm).
Talajic praised Pizzi as an “excellent coach who I have huge respect for” and admitted that the Argentinean knows his players just as well as he does.
“My full respect for Mr Pizzi for all his work with Bahrain,” said Talajic at the eve-of-match press conference. “He is a very good coach. He was working with my boys before me and knows everything about us. But tomorrow is not a game between Pizzi and Dragan.
“We respect Kuwait. The game is 50-50 because this is a semi-final but I hope my boys play nice football, like Kuwait too. A full stadium, 60,000 people, it will be a great occasion for everyone.”
Bahrain have reached the semi-finals at the last three Gulf Cup editions, winning the crown for the only time in 2019, but their latest ambitions took a knock when they lost to Yemen in their final Group B game after two earlier wins.
“Yes, we lost to Yemen and I take responsibility,” he said. “I put 11 new players on the pitch. Yemen played much better and congratulations to them, once again, for a good performance. It was a slap to me and to my players but it will be good for our players to bounce back for our Kingdom.”
Talajic declined to talk tactics and only reiterated: “You will see tomorrow night, God willing, what my boys can do.” In the earlier semi-final on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia will face Oman at the Jaber Al-Mubarak International Stadium (5:30 pm).
Oman head coach Rasheed Jaber believes their Khaleeji Zain 26 semi-final showdown with Saudi Arabia will be decided by the smallest of details at the Jaber Al-Mubarak International Stadium in Kuwait on Tuesday night.
The 2023 finalists have impressed by winning Group A, securing a win over Qatar and draws with Kuwait and UAE, and are focused on facing a star-studded Saudi side that has improved with every match since their opening defeat to Bahrain.
“The match will be a very tough semi-final,” said Rasheed at the eve-of-match press conference. “We respect Saudi Arabia. They have distinguished players and a big history. But we need effort from our players who must concentrate for the full 90 minutes because this match will be decided on the small details and mental strength of the players.”
Saudi Arabia fans have travelled to Kuwait in huge numbers, packing out the 57,000-seater Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium for their final Group B decider against Iraq at the weekend.
But this match will be played at the smaller Jaber Al-Mubarak stadium that seats 15,000 fans, with Jaber saying his side is unfazed by possibly being outnumbered in the stands.
“Our team is well-organized and have handled all of the matches well,” he said. “We need to create a playing style for our strengths and to stop Saudi playing. We are used to their big spectator numbers, but we are also used to going to stadiums in front of 50,000 or 100,000 home spectators so it won’t phase us.” Several injuries are hampering the Omani preparations, but, again, the coach is not making excuses and believes his side can go all the way in Kuwait and win their third Gulf crown this week. The last coming in 2018.
“Irrespective of our line-up, I trust all of my players. Our target is to qualify for the final though after all the work and effort that we have done in the past days. We are ready for the potential to play 90 minutes, 120 mins or even the penalties. Mental concentration will be the main factor for the players.”
Meanwhile, winger Marwan Al-Sahafi has arrived in Kuwait to bolster Saudi Arabia ahead of their Khaleeji Zain 26 semi-final with Oman. Al-Sahafi has arrived from his Belgian club Beerschot who have started their winter break, but his head coach, Herve Renard, has not revealed whether the 20-year-old will start.
“I don’t know what will be my next 11,” Renard told media at the eve-of-match press conference. “I want to find the best 11 to start, but also to finish because we can make five substitutions.”
After losing their opening match to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia edged past Yemen and then returned to form with their impressive 3-1 win over Iraq to qualify for the last four, and keep their hopes of a fourth Gulf title alive. Playmaker Salem Al-Dawsari played a leading role in that win, and the coach paid tribute to his Al-Hilal skipper who was a doubt coming into the tournament.
“Salem broke his nose and wasn’t supposed to play here until the semi-final, if we qualified,” said Renard. “But he decided to come in against Bahrain and this was a fantastic message to the youth players because when this kind of player shows this level of determination, all the squad will follow. We know we have a great captain and all of us will be behind him because what he did was important for the team and country, so all of us must follow this determination.”
The Green Falcons have conceded more goals than anyone – six – at this tournament, but are also lead goal scorers with eight, prompting many questions about tactics.
“Yes, we have conceded six, but have scored eight which is more important,” he said. “We always want a good full game, but sometimes opponents force you to be in a difficult situation. We need to keep improving if we want to achieve our goal of winning this tournament.”
Later on Tuesday evening, the second semi-final will see hosts Kuwait take on Group B winners Bahrain at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
