Riyadh: Coach Miroslav Soukup thanked Yemen’s fans for their support during his side’s goalless draw with Bahrain in their opening Gulf Cup group game at the King Fahd International Stadium late on Thursday.
More than 10,000 turned up to cheer on the tournament’s underdogs, who have never won a Gulf Cup game, helping them to record their first point in the tournament since 2007 and only their fourth draw since joining the competition in 2003.
The spirited Yemenis were all over Bahrain, who offered comparatively little in return, but what they had in passion they just lacked in finesse in front of goal. Bahrain, who are ranked 74 positions above Yemen in the Fifa world rankings, on the other hand, were left humiliated by the result.
“I want to thank the fans for their amazing support, because they stuck behind us the whole game,” the Czech coach said. “Myself and the players are so happy that so many people came out to support us.
“I told the players before the game we are not favourites and we are not under pressure, just play for the spectators and don’t think about the result, concentrate on the game and try to win.”
Soukup, who was celebrating his 49th birthday on Thursday, added that the draw provided the perfect gift from his players.
“It’s my birthday today,” he added. “And I wished for only one present, three points. But I am happy that my players gave me at least one point. It’s only a small present but I am happy with it.”
Next up, Yemen play Qatar, who drew 1-1 with hosts Saudi Arabia in their opening game on Thursday, leaving Soukup with a big task on his hands if he wants to maintain the euphoria that currently surrounds his team.
“It’s only been ten minutes after the first game, so I haven’t even thought about the next game yet, I’m just too happy,” he said. “I watched the Saudi-Qatar game and saw that both teams have big quality and did well. Again, we won’t think about the result or the tournament, but just slowly start to think about the next game against Qatar after two days’ rest.”
