The delegation of the first national football team leaves for Kuwait today, in preparation for participation in the Arabian Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 26), which will start in Kuwait, the day after tomorrow, and continue until the third of next January, with the participation of eight Gulf teams, which have been divided into two groups, The first includes teams: UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, while the second group includes teams: defending champion Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen.
For his part, the Portuguese national team coach, Paulo Bento, confirmed that the fans represent the source of the team’s strength and that he is player No. 12, and that he is waiting for his presence in Kuwait to support “Al-Abyad” during its upcoming appearance in the Gulf Cup.
Pinto said in a video published on the official website of the Football Association: “Hello, UAE fans, I would like to thank you for supporting the team in its previous matches, and we are waiting for your support this time in the Gulf Cup tournament held in Kuwait. You are the source of our strength and our number 12 player. We are waiting for you… Gulf, oh.” White.
The recent training sessions conducted by the team at the Dubai Police Officers Club Stadium witnessed the attendance of 20 players out of 26 who were chosen to represent “Al-Abyad” in the Gulf Cup, while the number was completed yesterday, after the six players from Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wasl joined, after they were absent from the team. At the beginning of the gathering, due to their association with playing the match that brought together Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wasl, the day before yesterday, in the 10th round of the ADNOC Professional League.
The Emirati White will begin its matches in “Gulf 26” the day after tomorrow, Saturday, with a meeting with the Qatari national team, while it will play its second match against Kuwait on the 24th of the same month, and conclude its journey in the first round of the tournament with a meeting with the Omani national team on the 27th of this month.
Al-Abyad launched an internal camp in Dubai since last Monday, and trained at the Dubai Police Officers Club Stadium under the leadership of Portuguese coach Paulo Pinto, who sought during these training to put the final touches to prepare the team in all aspects before heading to Kuwait.
Although the team aspires to compete for the championship title and win the third title in its history, its participation in this tournament is the best preparation for its remaining four matches in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, most notably its expected confrontation against the Iranian national team on March 20 for the first group.
The team’s technical staff, led by Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, focused during recent training in Dubai on choosing the appropriate combination with which it will play its opening match against Qatar, as the team’s coach realizes the importance of the opening match, as winning it is the key to superiority in this tournament.
Coach Pinto also informed of the readiness of his players and their safety from any injuries, for fear of causing any confusion in Al-Abyad’s preparation program for this event, especially since the team lost in the recent period due to injury, the services of the rising striker Sultan Adel, whom coach Pinto was counting on to be the most suitable alternative for the club. He replaces the team’s all-time top scorer, Ali Mabkhout, who has been out of Pinto’s accounts during the past period. The injury also deprived the team of the services of Al-Wasl player Ali Saleh, who was not chosen in the new list and is also out of accounts. Pinto in the Gulf Championship.
With the exception of the two new players in the national team, namely: Al-Wahda player Lucas Pimenta and Al-Ain player Solomon Suso, the new list included the same faces that Pinto relied on in the last period, and they strongly proved their worth and had an imprint on the positive results achieved by the national team in the third round of the qualifying qualifiers. To the 2026 World Cup, the team occupies third place with 10 points, behind the leading Iranian team with 16 points and Uzbekistan, which is in third place with 13 points.
Team list
The list of the team that will participate in the “Gulf 26” included 26 players, namely: Khaled Issa, Hamad Al-Muqbali, Ali Khasif, Muhammad Al-Attas, Lucas Pimenta, Kwame Koidu, Khalifa Al-Hammadi, Khamis Al-Mansouri, Abdullah Idris, Fares Khalil, Khaled Al-Dhanhani, Zayed Sultan, Majid Rashid, Yahya Nader, and Mackenzie Hunt. Tahnoun Al Zaabi and Abdullah Hamad and Issam Fayez, Marcos Meloni, Solomon Suso, Yahya Al-Ghassani, Harib Abdullah, Fabio de Lima, Fahd Badr, Bruno Oliveira and Caio Candio.
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