Sport | Football
A draw today will suit Saudi Arabia and Iraq
Group B is delicately poised with any two of the four teams playing today still capable of making it to the last four of the 18th Gulf Cup Championship.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:36 May 3, 2009
- Image Credit: Ravindranath/Gulf News
- Iraq's Mahdi Karim Agiel (green) and Tilal Yousif Mohammad of Bahrain tussle for the ball during their Group B match.
Abu Dhabi: Group B is delicately poised with any two of the four teams playing today still capable of making it to the last four of the 18th Gulf Cup Championship.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are joint leaders with four points and play each other in one match while defending champions Qatar and Bahrain, with one point each, clash in the other.
Both matches will be played simultaneously, but Saudi Arabia and Iraq need only a draw to advance together into the last four.
However, coaches of the two sides expressed different approaches to this crucial final round which may give Qatar and Bahrain a glimmer of hope.
Saudi Arabia's Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta said his team will go all out to win and advance as group leaders while Iraqi coach Akram Ahmad Salman said his aim was to first qualify and he does not mind how it is achieved.
The Iraqis will miss their main striker Younis Mahmoud, out with two yellow cards, while influential midfielder Nashat Akram is on the injured list.
Another worry for coach Akram is that four of his players are on one yellow card each and that will surely play on his mind and tactics against the Saudis who are yet to strike top form.
Saudi Arabia are also nagged by injuries with Hussain Abdul Gani leaving for home after an injury while defender Naif Al Ghadi is still nursing one.
Saudi Arabia are likely to have an edge over the Iraqis with their attack comprising Yasser Al Qah tani, Mohammad Al Shahloub and Malek Al Housawi - a highly potent combination.
The Qatar-Bahrain match, to be played at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, is expected to be a cracker. Both teams know only a win will give then an outside chance depending on what happens at the nearby Al Nahyan Stadium between Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Both matches will kick off at 5.10 pm.
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