Seven teams in the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, which began yesterday in Kuwait, are looking forward to maintaining their technical readiness before completing their journey in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will be completed next March.
With the exception of the Yemeni team, the rest of the teams, namely: the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, and Oman, are participating in the World Cup qualifiers, having played six rounds, awaiting a decision in the remaining four rounds.
The Gulf teams are not in an ideal situation in the World Cup qualifiers, as their chances have become difficult to reserve one of the two direct qualification tickets for each of the three groups, with the exception of Iraq, which has great chances with South Korea to advance from its group to the World Cup finals.
In an effort to ensure their best preparations for the qualifiers, the seven teams are competing in the current Gulf Championship with their entire lineup, in a phenomenon different from what it was in previous editions, specifically since the Yemen edition that took place in 2010, in which some teams competed with second-tier players, including the Emirati White, and the scene was repeated in The past editions had an impact on the technical level of the tournament, the most recent of which was the past edition in the Iraqi city of Basra, where the Saudi and Qatari national teams participated with second-row players.
For his part, Iraqi coach Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader said that the “Gulf 26” edition in Kuwait will be the best technically and competitively in 16 years, which makes it difficult to predict the identity of the title holder, even with two teams reaching the final match.
Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader told “Emirates Today”: “The real competitive value of the Gulf tournaments lies in the participation of all teams with their main players, and this advantage was not present in many previous editions, which made the chances of winning the title shrink significantly, and thus there was an impact on the technical level of the tournament.” ».
He added: “Today we stand before an exceptional edition in all aspects, especially since the tournament is being held at a time when the Gulf teams needed it to undergo the best preparation before the start of the seventh and eighth stages of the World Cup qualifiers, and I believe that in light of their results, many things will be determined in the groups.” The three are for the Gulf teams, in addition to Iraq, so everyone decided to go to Kuwait with the best possible squad for this purpose, and also to compete for the title.”
He explained: “The UAE national team will benefit the most from the Gulf Championship, especially since the Portuguese coach Paulo Bento was unable, for one reason or another, to hold long gatherings for the Whites that would enable him to achieve the best possible harmony between the players, especially with the changes that occurred in the national team with the entry of not small numbers. On his squad, it needed long gatherings and many friendly matches to increase harmony among them, and this was not achieved in the six matches that he played in the World Cup qualifiers, as the Whites gathered only Only five days before any official due date.”
He continued: “The same applies to the Saudi and Qatari national teams, especially with the return of French coach Renard to lead (Al-Akhdar), who did not get enough time to convey his ideas and plans to the players in the way he saw them. Likewise, the Qatari national team, which appointed a new coach to lead (Al-Anabi), and needed For a strong experience like (Gulf 26) to rearrange the cards again.”
He concluded: “It is certain that all teams will emerge with an important technical experience in the Gulf Cup, and this will be reflected in the follow-up of a strong tournament that everyone will enjoy.”
. An exceptional version in all aspects, coinciding with the preparation for important matches in the World Cup qualifiers.
. .
