Riyadh: Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah has told his teammates to put their club colours aside when they face Qatar in the Gulf Cup final in the Saudi capital on Wednesday.
The Green Falcons represent an eclectic mix of the Saudi Professional League’s finest, with key contributions from top-five rivals Al Hilal, Al Ahli, Al Nassr, Al Shabab and Al Ittihad.
But, as is always the case in international football, dressing rooms and team buses form divisions along domestic lines, something Abdullah seems keen to put an end to.
“We should all forget the colours of our clubs, because we are all Saudis and represent our country in this Gulf Cup,” said the Al Shabab shot-stopper at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.
“All games are difficult in this competition and the final will be no different. Qatar have strong elements in all departments and we respect and appreciate our opponent. However, we should wait for our moment and strive to emerge with a good win regardless of anything we are up against.
“We have great confidence in our ability to win the title but we hope the public get behind us in this match,” he added. “We enter into this game with focus and strong judgement, because we know just one single game will decide the fate of our entire tournament.”
Saudi Arabia reached the Gulf Cup final with a 3-2 semi-final win over defending champions UAE, after topping Group A with results over Qatar 1-1, Bahrain 3-0 and Yemen 1-0.
Qatar, meanwhile, qualified second from Group A with three draws against Saudi Arabia 1-1, Yemen 0-0 and Bahrain 0-0, before beating Oman 3-1 in the final four.
