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DUBAI: ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ face hosts Russia on the 14th of June 2018 in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, but the next stage of preparations en route to Moscow starts this weekend against another host country in another opening fixture. The 23rd edition of the Gulf Cup kicks-off on Friday when the Green Falcons face a Kuwait side returning from more than two years of international hiatus following a ban from FIFA.
The side that takes on the Blues of Kuwait on Friday will be very different to that expected to face Russia in six months’ time. For starters, coach Krunoslav Jurcic will lead the team instead of first-team manager Juan Antonio Pizzi. The Croatian takes to Kuwait the youngest squad among the eight nations competing for the regional title.
Besides the host nation, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Group A includes regional heavyweights the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman. Saudi and the UAE exchanged wins in the third round of the Asian qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup: The Green Falcons triumphed 3-0 in Jeddah, while the Whites responded with a 2-1 win in Al-Ain in the penultimate matchday of the campaign.
The UAE have since replaced coach Mahdi Ali with experienced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni who has called up a full-strength squad for the Gulf Cup, including the likes of 2015 Asian Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil and his successor for the award Omar Abdulrahman as well as 2015 Asian Cup top goal scorer Ali Mabkhout. With the abundance of talent in their ranks, the UAE are favorites to advance from the group and even win the tournament.
Kuwait will be motivated, returning to international football in their favorite competition, which they have won a record ten times. On home soil, the Blues will mount a serious challenge for the title and their fans will accept nothing short of a semifinal spot.
Then there is Oman, whose Dutch manager Pim Verbeek plays a conservative brand of football and could be successful in getting smash-and-grab wins against stronger opponents.
Given all of the above, coupled with the inexperience of his own squad, Jurcic would be wise to ease the pressure on his players and instead focus on the medium-term objective of helping Pizzi identify players who can make it to the team traveling to Russia. Granted, Saudi fans would not be satisfied with an early exit. After all, the Gulf Cup remains highly entrenched in the region’s fan culture and bragging rights are still as important as ever to supporters.
Kuwait’s ban has seen them slip down to 188th in FIFA rankings, a position that does not represent their true level. Saudi are currently ranked 63rd and a defeat or even a draw against a side 125 places below them can have a damaging impact on the team’s ranking. The same is true, to a lesser extent, of Oman who are ranked 101st going into the tournament.
A number of players in Jurcic’s squad already have a claim on a spot on the plane to Moscow next summer, and for them, it is crucial that they lead by example to impress coach Pizzi, who will certainly be watching. Defender Abdulrahman Al-Obaid, midfielders Ahmed Al-Fraidi, Salman Al-Moasher and Nouh Al-Moosa, in addition to strikers Mukhtar Fallatah and Hazza Al-Hazza, have all represented the national team over the past 12 months and are considered fringe players at this stage. Their performances in Kuwait can go a long way in determining their World Cup fate come May.