Riyadh: Saudi Arabian coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro is refusing to take underdogs Yemen for granted in their last group game on Wednesday.
Yemen have held Bahrain and Qatar to two goalless draws to record more than one point in the group stage of the competition for the first time in their history. They now go in search of their first ever win in the tournament, against hosts Saudi Arabia.
Caro, whose own side drew 1-1 with Qatar before beating Bahrain 3-0, doesn’t plan on getting humiliated. “Yemen are the surprise team of the tournament so far,” he said. “They’ve proved in the first games that they are fighters with good technical ability. We will undoubtedly face some difficulties against them and a win won’t be easy.”
Caro said he had warned his players that their superior ranking and professional league structure and experience would count for little against the minnows.
“There’s no history and no past in football, only focus on what is happening now, we must play with discipline and focus to get a good outcome,” he added. “Victory will not be achieved through name or potential, I have prepared the players for this task and warned them of all eventualities.”
Yemen coach Miroslav Soukup, meanwhile, asked for one last push from his players to at least attempt an unlikely first qualification to the second round.
“We are very happy to still be in with a chance of advancing to the semi-finals,” he said. “But if we are to do anything against Saudi we must at least repeat the performances of the last two games and more.
“Until now I don’t know if we can play better than we did in the first two games or whether we have reached our maximum.
“But for me it would be better to lose 1-0 and play well than to stay behind the ball and kick it out for another draw. We respect the quality of our opponent, but believe me we will try to do our best in the next game and see where it takes us.”
