Riyadh: Qatar won’t be taking three points against Yemen for granted in Sunday’s second Gulf Cup group game, according to Maroons coach Djamel Belmadi.
Underdogs Yemen held Bahrain to a goalless draw in Thursday’s opener to record their first tournament point since 2007. Al Yemen A’Sa’eed now go in search of their first-ever victory in a Gulf Cup match since joining the competition in 2003.
Belmadi, however, comes into this game from a 1-1 opening draw with hosts Saudi Arabia, and won’t accept anything less than three points over the minnows.
“We go into our second match with Yemen with the ambition only to win,” he said. “But we know that all our games in the championship will be tough, especially after Yemen succeeded in a draw with Bahrain.
“The audience was surprised by them, they have a good coach and their players have the motivation to finally answer the call of their supporters. We respect all teams taking part in this tournament, but as always we will be looking for three points.”
Yemen coach Miroslav Soukup, meanwhile, promised his players would continue to battle in the face of adversity despite being 90 positions lower than Qatar in the world rankings.
“We are considerably behind other teams in the rankings, but that does not force us to surrender, we have the best fans, who deserve reward for their support against Bahrain, and we hope their support for us is even stronger against Qatar.”
