“Al-Abyad” leaves for Basra in preparation for “Gulf 25”

The delegation of the first national football team will leave for the Iraqi city of Basra this morning, via Dubai International Airport, in preparation for participating in the Arab Gulf Cup in its 25th edition, scheduled for the period from 6 to 19 this month. Al-Abyad will play in the second group, which includes the teams of Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, and will start its matches in the tournament by meeting Bahrain (the defending champion) next Saturday at the Olympic Stadium.

According to the program set by the coaching staff, the national team will perform its first training session at the Sports City Stadium in Iraq, after arriving in Basra today.

Last Friday, Al-Abyad played a friendly match against the Lebanese national team, in which it won with a clean goal scored by player Sebastian Tigali, and the match represented the last rehearsal for the national team in preparation for the Gulf Championship.

Yesterday, the national team players returned to the internal camp in Dubai after a short one-day vacation, which the technical staff granted them to spend with their families before traveling to Iraq, knowing that the national team had started an internal camp in Dubai on December 26 as part of its preparations for the Gulf Championship.

The team performed a final training session before traveling with the participation of all the players selected in the final list, and it is expected that the technical staff has worked during the training to address the negatives that accompanied the team’s last friendly match against Lebanon, and work to strengthen the strengths and positive points in the team, leading the team to The stage of full readiness before entering the atmosphere of the Arabian Gulf Cup.

The team hopes that Musharraf will appear in this tournament and win its title for the third time, after winning the title twice since the date of its participation in the tournament, in the 18th edition that was held in Abu Dhabi in 2007 and the 21st edition that was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2013.

The coaching staff, led by Argentine coach Rodolfo Aruabarrena, had selected 23 players in the official list that will play the tournament matches.

Although the national team is witnessing impressive absences, such as striker Ali Mabkhout, Ali Salmeen, Shaheen Abdul Rahman and Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Arwabarina was keen to select some elements that could compensate for the absence of basic elements that the national team relied on in the past.

During recent training, as well as during Lebanon’s recent friendly match, the national team players showed great enthusiasm before the expected Gulf participation, and worked to achieve honorable results for Emirati football.

The coach of the national team stressed during his statements at the last press conference before traveling to Iraq that the technical staff worked during the internal camp, which began on December 26, on some points that the national team needed, and that he was satisfied with the performance of the players during the last camp in Dubai.

The coach of the national team indicated that the coaching staff will take advantage of the five days separating it from the first official match in the tournament against the Bahrain national team to perform daily training in the Iraqi city of Basra, which will host the tournament matches.

Checking on logistics

The director of the national team, Yasser Salem, revealed that the national team’s mission will leave for Iraq at 7:55 this morning via Dubai International Airport, indicating that the national team will train this evening at the Sports City Stadium in Basra, indicating that there are two members of the technical and administrative staff who had traveled To the city of Basra to find out about all logistical matters, especially in terms of the hotel in which the team’s delegation will stay, as well as the stadium, stressing that the team’s affairs are good.

The national team manager, Yasser Salem, thanked the Emirati media for their support and follow-up to the national team, stressing that they and the media complement each other during this important tournament for the country.