El Clasico Rodolfo Arruabarrena Australia Uae Saudi Arabia Riyadh Iraq Football cup El Clasico Rodolfo Arruabarrena Australia Uae Saudi Arabia Riyadh Iraq

UAE head into Arabian Gulf Cup with plenty of questions to answer

arabnews.com

This month’s 25th Arabian Gulf Cup represents the definitive end to a glittering era for UAE football. Searching questions posed to head coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena after a divisive squad selection now center on whether this is the bold starting point for a fresh epoch of success ahead of the impending Asian Cup, or the beginning of an imperfect succession’s chastening descent.

For the first time at a major tournament since 2010’s regional running, none from the UAE’s celebrated “Golden Generation” trio of ground-breaking 2015 AFC Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil, 2016 winner Omar Abdulrahman and 81-goal national record marksman Ali Mabkhout are present.

These are the superstars who drove entry into the London 2012 Olympics, triumphed at the 2013 Arabian Gulf Cup, made successive semifinals in the Asian Cup and forged stellar reputations far beyond the country’s borders.

Unquestionable icons of the Emirati game. But, no longer untouchable ones. Exclusions of the former-mentioned pair in Iraq were a given.

Related News
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has advanced to the Australian Open semifinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Iraq’s prime minister Mohammed Al-Sudani on successfully organizing the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup and winning the tournament, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Tuesday.
BASRA: Iraq defeated Oman 3-2 on Thursday to lift the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time since 1988, but the match was marred by a crush in the crowd before kickoff that resulted in the death of at least one supporter.
BASRA, Iraq: One person was killed and dozens injured Thursday (Jan 19) when a stampede broke out outside a football stadium in Iraq hours before the Gulf Cup final, officials said.
BASRA: Hosts Iraq will meet Oman in the final of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup in Basra on Thursday, after both teams recorded narrow victories in Monday’s semi-finals.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.