Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Cup victory has ended a 23-year wait for silverware and eased the pressure on the team before it hosts the next AFC Asian Cup.
Saudi Arabia beat United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Tuesday’s final at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah to win the Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Gulf Cup 27. The achievement was particularly significant given the team’s recent struggles and its long absence from the winners’ podium.
The title, however, should be viewed as a step towards a bigger target. The Gulf Cup is not an official competition in itself, while Saudi Arabia’s main ambition must be to win the Asian Cup on home soil in January and February.
Saudi Arabia have not won the continental tournament for 30 years, since lifting it for a third and final time in 1996 after beating United Arab Emirates on penalties. They have since reached two more finals, losing to Japan in 2000 and Iraq in 2007.
A fourth Asian Cup triumph would take Saudi Arabia level with Japan as the competition’s most successful nation. Japan currently hold that record alone.
Pressure lifted
Head coach Giorgos Donis now has to find the right path both technically and psychologically. The mental benefit of the Gulf Cup success could prove especially important.
Although the competition is unofficial, it ended a prolonged period without a trophy and removed some of the burden carried by Saudi Arabia’s players and coaching staff. The drought had stretched across 23 years, during which the team lost five successive finals after its last title in 2003. Four of those defeats came in the Gulf Cup.
Saudi Arabia’s supporters will now hope to see their team win both the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup. But the recent success should allow those expectations to be managed with less intensity, reducing the pressure ahead of the continental tournament.
Donis also emerged from Gulf Cup 27 with a stronger pool of alternatives. Saudi Arabia coped with several significant absences during the competition, including goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, defender Hassan Kadesh, left-back Zakaria Al-Hawsawi and midfielder Alaa Al-Haji.
Hassan Tambakti and winger Mohammed Al-Qahtani also missed one or two matches, yet replacements were found each time.
Greater depth
The emergence of young player Hamam Al-Hamami, named the tournament’s best player, has given Donis a potential successor to captain Salem Al-Dawsari, either in the starting line-up or from the bench.
On the opposite wing, Donis can call on Sultan Mandash and Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, with his brother Mohammed also able to fill the position when required.
Saudi Arabia have several attacking options too. Firas Al-Buraikan finished as Gulf Cup 27’s top scorer, while Abdullah Al-Hamdan was the leading scorer in Gulf Cup 26. Abdullah Al-Salem also scored during the tournament.
Defensively, Hassan Tambakti, Abdullah Al-Amri, Hassan Kadesh and Jihad Dhakri can all play together. Nawaf Boushal, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat and Mohammed Mahzari provide options at right-back, while Moteb Al-Harbi and Zakaria Al-Hawsawi can operate on the left. Behind them are Mohammed Al-Owais and Nawaf Al-Aqidi.
That depth gives Donis greater freedom to impose his style and rotate his players without one absence leaving the team short of solutionsan advantage Saudi Arabia will hope to carry into the Asian Cup.
