Mubarak plays down UAE's title ambitions in Gulf Cup

Dubai: UAE star Nawaf Mubarak has played down expectations ahead of the Gulf Cup, calling it one of the most evenly matched tournaments in international football.

The eight-team tournament starts next Wednesday in Abu Dhabi and is hosted by the UAE for the first time.

Featuring alongside the hosts will be Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Yemen and Kuwait.

And Sharjah's Mubarak, who can play as an attacking midfielder or as a striker, said it was hard to pick a winner.

"I hope we can win and we will try our very hardest to take the cup," he vowed.

"Playing at home will certainly help us and we appeal to the fans to come out and support us.

"But Oman has a strong team, as does Yemen and there is also Iraq to consider.

"You look at Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar and they are all strong teams. No one team stands out head and shoulders above the others. All teams are at the same level."

And Mubarak acknowledged the usefulness of the Dubai Football Challenge to the UAE squad, although he admitted the games lacked the intensity that the Gulf Cup matches would have.

He added: "There have been good performances by our team, showing our talent and we hope to continue at the same level and keep improving.

"It's good preparation for us before we play the Gulf Cup. Well-known teams like Hamburg and Stuttgart are very professional and they test you and allow you to see what you can do better. For us it bodes well for the Gulf Cup.

"This is a good technical preparation for the Gulf Cup but at that tournament near enough all the teams will be playing at around the same level and they will be special games between Arab countries. It will be a hard and tight tournament."