Abu Dhabi : The eight teams competing for the title of the 20th Gulf Cup in Yemen have been divided into two groups after being seeded, according to the last rankings. Hosts Yemen and the reigning champions Oman were given the two top places in each group.
Yemen tops the first group which also features Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar while reigning champions, Oman heads the second group which includes UAE, Bahrain and Iraq.
In each group there are three former champions with only Yemen and Bahrain in the two groups who did not yet win the title.
Yemen, usually regarded as the outsiders in the tournament, are expected to be giant killers as it will be held on their own turf, among their enthusiastic fans.
Vast knowledge
The team is led by Croatian Jurcic Srecko who has vast knowledge of the participating teams as he has led Bahrain, Oman and the UAE in the past and coached many clubs in the area.
The team have achieved some brilliant results in the West Asian Zone Championship in Jordan last month and have equalised with North Korea — one of the continent's representatives in this year World Cup in South Africa — some days ago.
