06 TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT 07TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

ALL-TIME TOP SCORERSRANK PLAYER COUNTRY GOALS1 Jasem Yaqoub Kuwait 182 Majed Abdullah Saudi Arabia 17 Hussein Saeed Iraq 174 Jasem Al Huwaidi Kuwait 14 Faisal Al-Dakhil Kuwait 146 Mansour Muftah Qatar 137 Yussef Al-Suwayed Kuwait 128 Bader Al-Mutawa Kuwait 12 Fahad Khamees United Arab Emirates 10 Mahmoud Soufi Qatar 10 Yasser Al-Qahtani Saudi Arabia 10

GOLDEN BOOT WINNERSYEAR COUNTRY PLAYER GOALS SCORED1970 Kuwait Mohammed Masawd 3 Kuwait Jawad Khalif1972 Kuwait Hamad Bu Hamood 61974 Kuwait Jasem Yaqoub 61976 Kuwait Jasem Yaqoub 91979 Iraq Hussein Saeed 101982 Bahrain Ebrahim Zwaeed 3 UAE Saleem Khalifa Kuwait Yussif Swaid Saudi Arabia Majed Abdullah1984 Iraq Hussain Saeed 71986 UAE Fahad Khamees 61988 UAE Zuhair Bukheet 4 Iraq Ahmad Radhi1990 Kuwait Mohammed Ebrahim Hajeyah 51992 Qatar Mubarak Mustafa 31994 Saudi Arabia Fuad Anwar 4 Qatar Mahmoud Soufi1996 Qatar Mohammed Salem Al Enazi 41998 Kuwait Jasem Al Huwaidi 92002 Oman Hani Al Dhabit 52003–04 Bahrain Talal Yousef 52004 Oman Amad Al Hosni 42007 UAE Ismail Matar 52009 Oman Hassan Rabia 42010 Kuwait Bader Al Mutawa 3 Iraq Alaa Abdul-Zahra2013 UAE Ahmed Khalil 3 Kuwait Abdulhadi Khamis2014 UAE Ali Mabkhout 52017–18 Iraq Ali Husni 2 Iraq Ali Faez Bahrain Jamal Rashid Qatar Almoez Ali Oman Said Al Ruzaiqi

RECORD HOLDERSBiggest Win – 8 Goals

Kuwait 8 – 0 Oman (29 March 1976)Most Goals in a game – 8 Goals

Kuwait 8 – 0 Oman (29 March 1976)Most Individual Goals in a Single Game – 5 Goals

Majed Abdullah Saudi Arabia (3 April 1979 vs. Qatar)Jassem Al Houwaidi Kuwait (1998 vs. Qatar)

Most Individual Goals in a Single Tournament – 10 GoalsHussein Saeed Iraq (1979)

Qatari players celebrate with the trophy after defeating

Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the final to win the 22nd edition of

Arabian Gulf Cup at the King Fahad Stadium in Riyadh,

in this November 26, 2014 file photo.

TEAM WINNERS RUNNERS-UP THIRD-PLACE FOURTH-PLACE SEMI-FINALS TOTAL KUWAIT 10 (1970, 1972, 1974*, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990*, 1996, 1998, 2010) 1 (1979) 2 (2002, 2013) 1 (2004) 1 (2009) 15 SAUDI ARABIA 3 (1994, 2002*, 2003) 6 (1972*, 1974, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2014*) 7 (1970, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988*, 1992, 1996) 1 (1982) 1 (2007) 18 QATAR 3 (1992*, 2004*, 2014) 4 (1984, 1990, 1996, 2002) 2 (1976*, 2003) 5 (1970, 1972, 1974, 1986, 1994) 1 (2009) 15 IRAQ 3 (1979*, 1984, 1988) 2 (1976, 2013) – – 2 (2010, 2017) 7 UAE 2 (2007*, 2013) 4 (1986, 1988, 1994*, 2017) 5 (1972, 1974, 1982*, 1998, 2014) 3 (1984, 1992, 1996) 1 (2010) 15 OMAN 2 (2009*, 2017) 2 (2004, 2007) – 4 (1990, 1998, 2003, 2014) – 8 BAHRAIN - 4 (1970*, 1982, 1992, 2003) 3 (1990, 1994, 2004) 5 (1976, 1979, 1988, 2002, 2013*) 2 (2007, 2017) 14 YEMEN – – – – - 0

ARABIAN GULF CUP: SUMMARY

EDITION/YEAR CHAMPIONS SCORE RUNNERS-UP1st 1970 Kuwait round-robin Bahrain 2nd 1972 Kuwait round-robin Saudi Arabia 3rd 1974 Kuwait 4 – 0 Saudi Arabia 4th 1976 Kuwait 4 – 2 Iraq5th 1979 Iraq round-robin Kuwait 6th 1982 Kuwait round-robin Bahrain

7th 1984 Iraq 1 – 1 (4–3) Qatar8th 1986 Kuwait round-robin UAE 9th 1988 Iraq round-robin UAE 10th 1990 Kuwait round-robin Qatar 11th 1992 Qatar round-robin Bahrain 12th 1994 Saudi Arabia round-robin UAE13th 1996 Kuwait round-robin Qatar 14th 1998 Kuwait round-robin Saudi Arabia 15th 2002 Saudi Arabia round-robin Qatar 16th 2003–04 Saudi Arabia round-robin Bahrain 17th 2004 Qatar 1 – 1 (6–5) Oman 18th 2007 UAE 1 – 0 Oman19th 2009 Oman 0 – 0 0(6–5) Saudi Arabia20th 2010 Kuwait 1 – 0 Saudi Arabia21st 2013 UAE 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) Iraq 22nd 2014 Qatar 2 – 1 Saudi Arabia 23rd 2017–18 Oman 0 – 0 (5–4) UAE

PAST ARABIAN GULF CUP FINALS

Last week we played with Vietnam (in the FIFA 2022 World Cup

qualifiers and 2023 Asian Cup), and then we suddenly knew we had to

participate in the 24th Gulf and we worked for a week to prepare

for the match and we are ready. At the beginning of the championship

we have no pressure at all. It is true that we learned late about

our participation, but we are ready for Yemen and I am not thinking of anything other than taking on

Yemen: UAE coach Van Marwijk

In order to prepare for the World Cup we must play such matches. Playing

in Doha in these competitions is important with the support of

the Qatari fans and we hope this will motivate us to offer a good

tournament: Qatar coach Felix Sanchez

I am delighted to be back in Doha. We have played some good games in

previous Gulf Cup tournaments but we are still looking for our first win. We have managed to get some draw results and played some memorable

matches. Our goal is to play a high standard of football and achieve the first victory that will delight

everyone in our country and bring smiles to their faces: Yemen coach

Sami Hassan Al Hadi

Defending champions Oman target winning streakTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Oman will be looking to successfully defend the Arabian Gulf Cup title they won two years back in Kuwait.

The Red Warriors are looking to win their second successive and third overall title at the 24th edition of the tournament which will kick off today in Doha.

Oman, ranked 77 on the FIFA compu-ter, will be hoping for a strong showing in the region’s top tournament.

In the last championship in Kuwait, Oman defeated UAE on penalties to win the regional title. Oman first won the Gulf Cup in 2009, while playing at home,

Oman are placed in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain while hosts Qatar will play against Iraq, UAE and Yemen in Group B. The defending cham-pions will commence their campaign with a match Bahrain on Wednesday.

The ‘Red Warriors’ will meet Kuwait, who are ten times Gulf Cup champions on November 30 while the last match of the group stage will be against Saudi Arabia on December 2.

Officials displaying the jerseys of competing teams. Omani players and officials celebrate after winning the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup final against the UAE at the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Stadium in Kuwait City in this file photo.

TodayQatar vs Iraq at Khalifa International Stadium, 19.30UAE vs Yemen at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium 21.30

TomorrowOman vs Bahrain at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 17.30 KSA vs Kuwait at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 20.00Thursday 28 Nov 2019 - Rest Day

Friday, November 29UAE vs Iraq at Khalifa International Stadium, 17.30 Yemen vs Qatar at Khalifa International Stadium, 20.00

Saturday, November 30Kuwait vs Oman at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 17.30 Bahrain vs KSA at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 20.00

Monday, December 2Qatar vs UAE, at Khalifa International Stadium,17.30 Kuwait vs Bahrain, at Khalifa International Stadium, 20.00 Yemen vs Iraq at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 17.30 Oman vs KSA at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, 20.00

Thursday, December 5Semi-finals Winner Group A vs Runner Up Group B, venue and time TBD Winner Group B vs Runner Up Group A, venue and time TBD

Sunday, December 8Final: At Khalifa International Stadium

Fixtures Stage set for 24th Arabian Gulf Cup

QATAR SQUAD

Saad Al Sheeb, Pedro Miguel, Boualem

Khouki, Tarek Salman, Abdelkarim Hassan,

Salem Al Hajri, Hassan Al Haydos (captain),

Akram Afif, Bassam Al Rawi, Al Moez Ali,

Karim Boudiaf, Ismail Mohamed, Mohamed

Muntari, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed

Salah El Nile, Fahd Shaneen,

Musab Khidar, Yousef Abdul

Razzaq, Abdul Aziz Hatem, Fahd

Younis, Almahdi Ali, Abdullah

AbdulSalam Al Ahraq and

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Qatari players

raise the Gulf Cup

after their victory

against Oman

during their 17th

Arabian Gulf Cup

final match in Doha

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Qatar beat Oman

and won the Gulf

Cup on penalties

5-4.

Saudi Arabian

players taking

part in a training

session at the

Aspire Zone

yesterday.PICTURES: MOHAMMED FARAG

Hassan Al Haydos Felix Sanchez

PAGE LAYOUT AND DESIGN: CHINTHANA WASALA/THE PENINSULA SPORT

United Arab Emirates

players arriving at the

Hamad international Airport

in Doha ahead of the 24th

Arabian Gulf Cup.PICTURE: MOHAMMED FARAG

AFP MOUNT MAUNGANUI

New Zealand said their compre-hensive innings victory over England was among their very best after Neil Wagner’s five-wicket burst sealed the first Test in Mount Maunganui yesterday.

The tireless left-armer took the last two England wickets in successive balls for a five-wicket haul and to complete the rout by an innings and 65 runs late on the final day.

While England captain Joe Root lamented a disappointing batting effort, and the lack of a bowler with Wagner’s appli-cation, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson celebrated his side’s match-defining innings of 615 for nine declared.

“To lose the toss and be 350 behind in the first innings it required something special,” Wil-liamson said.

“It’s certainly right up there in terms of a tough, grinding Test victory.”

BJ Watling’s 205 and Mitchell Santner’s 126 laid the platform for New Zealand’s colossal 262-run first-innings lead.

England, resuming the final day at 55 for three and needing to bat through to stumps to save the Test, progressed patiently to 121 for four before New Zealand removed the last six wickets for 76 runs. Wagner finished with five for 44 while Santner took three for 53.

“We saw the wicket deteri-orate and knew if you could hit the wicket hard you would get some variable bounce. That allowed us to make the break-throughs,” Williamson said, admitting that he had concerns about how the match would finish.

“England have experience and some world-class players who’ve batted out draws before. If they were better than us today they were going to be able to save it. It did come down to the wire.”

Root said England did not help themselves with the way they batted.

“Clearly some of the shots today were not good. Everyone’s very aware of that. You can’t fault effort but I put my hand up as well, that ball was treated with far too much respect.”

Root said the England bowlers

also needed to learn from the effort Wagner put in.

“He runs in all day and makes

sure every ball means some-thing,” Root said, adding there were times England quick Jofra Archer could “unleash a little bit more”.

“You have to give credit to guys like Neil Wagner who makes sure he gets the most out of himself and does a really good job for his team.”

The lop-sided win put New Zealand in an unbeatable position in the two-Test series and extended their home streak to a remarkable seven series without defeat.

However, their celebrations were tempered by injury, with Trent Boult bowling just one over in the morning before leaving the field with a rib problem and taking no further part.

Williamson, who had been troubled by a hip injury in the lead-up to the Test, left the field a few overs before the end clutching his side.

The captain was confident he would be fit for the second Test while Boult was to undergo further medical examinations today.

The second and final Test starts in Hamilton on Friday.

New Zealand’s Neil Wagner (right) celebrates with team-mate and wicketkeeper BJ Watling after dismissing England’s Stuart Broad during the fifth day of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui yesterday.

England 1st innings ..................................... 353 New Zealand 1st innings ...............615-9 dec England 2nd inningsR. Burns c de Grandhomme b Santner ....... 31 D. Sibley c Watling b Santner ........................12 J. Denly c Watling b Wagner ..........................35 J. Leach c Latham b Santner ............................0 J. Root c Latham b de Grandhomme ............11 B. Stokes b Southee ........................................28 O. Pope c Santner b Wagner ...........................6 J. Buttler b Wagner ............................................0 S. Curran not out ..............................................29 J. Archer c sub (Henry) b Wagner ................ 30 S. Broad lbw Wagner .........................................0 Extras (b12, lb1, w1, nb1) ..................... 15 Total (all out, 96.2 overs) .................. 197 Fall of wickets: 1-48 (Sibley), 2-53 (Burns), 3-55 (Leach), 4-69 (Root), 5-121 (Stokes), 6-132 (Denly), 7-133 (Pope), 8-138 (Buttler), 9-197 (Archer), 10-197 (Broad)Bowling: Southee 20-4-60-1, Boult 6-4-6-0, de Grandhomme 10-3-15-1 (1w), Santner 40-19-53-3 (1nb), Wagner 19.2-6-44-5, William-son 1-0-6-0Result: New Zealand won by an innings and 65 runsToss: EnglandUmpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Bruce Oxenford (AUS) TV Umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

SCOREBOARD

NZ’s Boult a concern ahead of second TestREUTERS WELLINGTON

Trent Boult will undergo scans on a rib injury to assess his fitness ahead of the second Test against England after the pace bowler missed much of the final day’s play in New Zealand’s victory over the tourists in the opening match at Bay Oval.

Boult bowled just one over yesterday before leaving the field, though he was not needed with Neil Wagner ripping through England’s lower order as the hosts romped to an innings and 65-run victory.

“At this stage not sure,” captain Kane Williamson told reporters when asked about Boult’s injury. “He has a scan tomorrow and he is sore at the moment.

“Hopefully the scan comes back clear but we’ll have to wait and see.”

New Zealand have replacements for Boult if he is ruled out.Matt Henry operated as the substitute fielder yesterday while

fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who was released ahead of the game at Bay Oval, could make his debut at Seddon Park.

Williamson also left the field late yesterday and after missing the Twenty20 series to rest a hip injury there were concerns it could have flared up again, with the batsman feeling his lower back and hip area as he walked off.

“Yeah, another niggle. Just a bit sore down here,” he said ges-turing towards his hip. “I think it should be okay.

“It’s not the same (injury) but in a similar area.“Hopefully just a bit of a niggle.”

Root urges more from Archer as England slump to heavy defeatAFP MOUNT MAUNGANUI

England captain Joe Root said rookie fast bowler Jofra Archer had a lot to learn as the tourists slumped to an innings defeat by New Zealand yesterday.

A “brutally honest” Root also blasted Eng-land’s shot selection in a brittle batting display after his team, after winning the toss, lost by an innings and 65 runs to go 1-0 down in the two-Test series.

Archer, 24, starred in this year’s Ashes, where he took 22 wickets in his debut Test series. But he managed only one scalp at Mount Maunganui -- that of BJ Watling for 205.

Root said Archer could take his cue from New Zealand’s Neil Wagner, who took five for 44 in England’s second innings and eight wickets in the match in total.

“He’s burst on to the international scene and he’s done wonderful things for England and he’ll do so many more wonderful things,” Root said of Archer. “But this is very new to him. He’s got the Kookaburra ball which he’s not bowled with before and he’s never been to this part of the world and you have to perform in a certain way out here.

“He’s got all the attributes that can be very successful and he’s got to learn you’ve got to make sure every spell counts and you’ve got to run in and use that extra pace to your advantage.”

Archer also got a ticking-off for riding a Segway on the field after the toss on Thursday -- risking possible injury. Root said Archer wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“I can’t fault his effort. Putting in the amount he has done this innings shows that he cares and he wants to really put in for this team,” added Root. “But I think there were certain spells where I think he can just unleash a little bit more and that will come with experience and time.”

England are hoping to sew the seeds for reclaiming the Ashes in Australia in 2021-2022, saying before the match that they were determined to “bat long”, while Archer was expected to show the world what he could do on foreign soil.

In his pre-match remarks, Root insisted “We’re going to take the team forward” and Test cricket “is a priority”, adding “My game’s in good order” -- before making scores of two and 11.

But, from being 242 for four at stumps on day one against New Zealand, England

saw a potential 500-plus first innings halted at 353.

New Zealand, in response, went from 127 for four to declare at 615 for nine. With England needing at least 262 to make New Zealand bat again, they reached 121 for four before the last six wickets fell for 76 runs.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” said Root of England’s reboot under new coach Chris Silverwood.

“You can’t fault the effort of the guys. It’s obvious we want to play in a certain way which is very different to how we’ve had to play in our own conditions over the past couple of years and it’s going to take time.

“We’ve got a couple of new guys in the team, some fresh faces at the start of their careers and they have to learn from these experiences.”

Few batsmen distinguished themselves, and England have now failed to reach 400 in 19 overseas innings since the 2017 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

“It’s always tough when you play abroad,” Root said. “Bring it all together and we will be come more consistent, we will score more runs more frequently and once we’ve seen ourselves do it a couple of times it will be a lot easier to do that consistently,” he added.

Give Tests the same pink-ball marketing buzz, says KohliREUTERS KOLKATA

India’s maiden pink-ball match lasted a little over two days but the buzz surrounding the event proved that proper marketing is essential for the future of Test cricket, said captain Virat Kohli (pictured).

India’s board has often been accused of neglecting the longest format of the game, which has been losing fans to limited overs cricket around the world, but there was no doubt about the BCCI’s commitment to the day-night Test against Bangladesh in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

In the build-up to the match, prominent city landmarks were illuminated in pink, ticket prices were slashed, dignitaries were invited to attend, and players spoke excitedly about the chal-lenges of playing with the pink ball under lights.

More than 42,000 fans turned up on each of the first two days, many of them drawn by the pink-ball novelty, and Kohli said this was how Test cricket should be promoted.

“I think it is very, very crucial

to market Test cricket like we do for T20 or one-day cricket,” he said after his team’s lop-sided victory.

“If there’s enough buzz created around Test cricket, then there will be a lot more keenness to come to the stadiums.”

Kohli suggested measures such as allowing school students to interact with players during breaks as a way to further engagement with fans.

“It should be an event where you come and experience a test

match, not just sit there and watch in hot conditions,” Kohli said.

“I think it has to be more for the fans and has to be marketed well.”

The series opener in Indore also drew a big crowd but India are not scheduled to play another Test series at home until they host England in 2021.

“It has to be marketed in a certain manner whenever test cricket comes back home. There has to be enough anticipation,” said Kohli.

“The pink-ball Test is a beginning. I’m sure these will be planned more often and that buzz would be created in dif-ferent parts of the country as well.”

Former captain Sourav Gan-guly’s rise to BCCI president has been the catalyst behind India’s decision to embrace day-night matches and Kohli was con-vinced Test cricket would be a priority for India.

“We’re walking in the right direction and I think, under him, we’ll see a lot more positive changes which will be cricket-specific and priority will be given to Test cricket,” Kohli added.

NZ application, patience sealed win: WilliamsonREUTERS WELLINGTON

Patience and application at the crease was key to New Zealand’s innings and 65-run win over England in the first Test at Bay Oval yesterday, captain Kane Williamson said.

Having declared on a massive 615-9 in their only knock in response to England’s first innings 353, the hosts then bowled the tourists out for 197 in Mt. Maunganui.

With Bay Oval hosting its first Test little was known about how the wicket would play and while there were rare occasions when the ball kept low or reared off a length, it was still a rela-tively good batting surface.

The main difference between the two sides appeared to be patience and decision-making, with New Zealand’s middle order in particular prepared to wait for the right ball to put away and build their innings.

Man-of-the-match BJ Watling, who scored his maiden test double century with 205 and shared in partnerships with Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner, batted for 667 minutes -- longer than either of England’s entire innings.

“His application at the crease and his focus... he faced nearly 500 deliveries which was an incredible effort,” Williamson told reporters.

“Just the patience to make good decisions for long periods of time, it was what the team required. (But) there was a huge amount of heart from that middle order to get us to the 600 mark.

“For them to keep making good decisions and bat for long periods of time and for 200 overs was an outstanding effort,” Williamson said.

New Zealand kept England in the field for more than 14 hours and by the end of their innings the visitors looked exhausted. The physical toll on their bowlers could be telling with the second match starting at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Friday.

England’s captain Joe Root reacts as he walks off the ground after being dismissed during the fifth day of the first Test in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, yesterday.

08 TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT

‘Something special’ as New Zealand hammer England in first Test

England’s bowler Archer says he was subjected to racial abuse during TestREUTERS WELLINGTON

The England and New Zealand cricket boards launched a probe yesterday after England fast bowler Jofra Archer said he was subjected to racial insults by a spectator while batting during the final day of the opening Test at Bay Oval.

New Zealand cruised to an innings and 65-run win over England to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Archer scored 30 and combined in a 59-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Sam Curran to delay the hosts’ victory.

“A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team, the crowd has been amazing this week except for that one guy,” the 24-year-old said on Twitter.

Archer, who was born in Barbados and represented West Indies at Under-19 level, has been fast-tracked into the England side and made an impressive test debut during the Ashes series against Australia.

According to protocol, International Cricket Council-appointed match referee Javagal Srinath of India is expected to mention the incident in his match report to the world governing body.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the incident took place after Archer was dismissed and was walking off the field to the pavilion.

“Through the scrutiny of CCTV footage at the Bay Oval, authorities are trying to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the remarks,” the ECB said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing.”

New Zealand Cricket said the security providers at the venue were unable to locate the perpetrator and the board will apol-ogise to Archer.

“NZC has zero tolerance towards abusive or offensive lan-guage at any of its venues and will refer any developments in the case to police,” the NZC added.

“It will contact Mr Archer tomorrow to apologise for the unac-ceptable experience, and to promise increased vigilance in the matter when the teams next meet in Hamilton.”

The second Test starts in Hamilton on Friday.

England’s captain Joe Root (right) talks with team-mates Stuart Broad (centre) and Jofra Archer during the fourth day of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Paine says Australia can get better after big winAFP BRISBANE

Australia captain Tim Paine (pictured) says his team have room to improve after crushing Pakistan in their opening Test, hailing the quality of his batsmen and bowlers.

The home side comfortably won the first of their two Tests by an innings and five runs inside four days at the Gabba on Sunday, set up by dismissing Pakistan for 240 in the first innings then smacking 580 in reply.

They now head to Adelaide for a day-night Test starting Friday, with Australia having ominously won all five pink-ball matches they have played.

Australia’s top order struggled during the recent Ashes series, but they clicked in Brisbane, raising hopes a corner has been turned.

David Warner hit 154, opening partner Joe Burns 97 and number three Marnus Labuschagne 185. The only real failure was Steve Smith (four), who was their saviour in England.

Asked if Australia had finally found its long-term top three, Paine replied: “The early signs would suggest yes. One innings doesn’t make a summer but we are really happy with the positive signs that we saw.”

Labuschagne, in particular, was a revelation, building on promising form during the Ashes to hit his maiden Test century and, according to Paine, “finally arrive on the big stage”.

“He gives our team energy out in the field and in the dressing room. It looks like he is getting better and better which is a great thing for Australia,” said the captain.

Australia’s formidable pace attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc also fired, with selectors having the added option in Adelaide of James Pattinson, who was banned for Brisbane over player abuse.

Paine suggested he favoured picking and sticking for the second Test, but that would be determined by the Adelaide Oval wicket.

“I thought the bowlers were terrific, to take 20 wickets inside four days,” he said. “But the squad named was for the first two Tests so we will get to Adelaide and look at the conditions. We have the pink ball as well, so that will come into consideration.”

Nadal, grieving Bautista Agut lead Spain to Davis Cup titleAP MADRID

Rafael Nadal gave all he had on the Caja Mágica center court in Madrid.

The top-ranked Spanish star even admitted he risked getting injured by playing eight matches - five singles, three doubles - in six days at the Davis Cup Finals, the new World Cup of men’s team tennis.

Nadal won all his matches, leading Spain to its sixth Davis Cup with a victory over first-time finalist Canada on Sunday.

But in Nadal’s opinion, the only hero for Spain was grieving teammate Roberto Bautista Agut. He sent Spain on its way to victory by winning the first singles match on Sunday, three days after the death of his father.

“I’ve won the eight matches but the person who was vital in this Davis Cup was Roberto,” Nadal said.

“For me, what he did was something almost (super) human. I don’t know how to explain it. It will be an example for the rest of my life. He had to leave, then his dad died, then he came back and practiced with us yesterday, and today he was ready again to play at a very high level. It was something incredible.”

Before Nadal defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (7) to clinch the title - Spain’s first since also winning at home in 2011 - Bautista Agut had given Spain a 1-0 lead by beating Félix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Bautista Agut pointed his finger to the sky after winning the final point in his match, and was in tears while speaking briefly to the crowd, which chanted his name.

“It was an amazing feeling on the court today,” said Bautista Agut, who was the Spanish player lifting the cup in the title celebrations.

Bautista Agut’s father died on Thursday - a day after his son had defeated Nikola Mektic of Croatia - with his health deteri-orating quickly after an illness that stemmed from a 2016 accident.

It was Nadal who had tears in his eyes when Bautista Agut thanked him for his efforts during the tournament.

“You gave us goosebumps all week, especially today,” Bautista Agut said. “Thank you. I’m sure that next year you will do it again.”

The 31-year-old Bautista Agut, No. 9 in the world, played as teammates Pablo Carreño Busta and Marcel Granollers nursed injuries entering the final.

“I had the opportunity to play today because all the team and all the players did an unbe-lievable effort since the first day,” Bautista Agut said.

Nadal considered himself lucky to be able to play all matches.

“It’s true that I held up, but we know that playing so many matches in this (hard court) surface is risky for me,

something can happen at any time,” Nadal said. “That’s how it’s been in the past, but luckily I held up.”

Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Feliciano López had been scheduled to face Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil in the now canceled doubles, although Nadal was likely to play if the title had been at stake. Nadal played in the decisive doubles on Friday and Saturday.

Voted the tournament’s best player, Nadal sealed the title with his 29th straight Davis Cup singles win, igniting the home crowd’s celebrations.

Tournament organizer and Barcelona soccer star Gerard Piqué, his wife Shakira - who performed in the closing cer-emony - and Spanish King Felipe VI were among those celebrating Spain’s triumph.

Spain’s other Davis Cup titles were in 2000, ’04, ’08, ’09 and ’11.

Canada was seeking its first Davis Cup title since debuting in the competition in 1913.

“I feel like we’ve really come really far as a team, as a nation,”

the 20-year-old Shapo-valov said. “Def in i te ly we’re super proud. Obvi-ously it sucks, sucks losing in the finals. But I ’m super proud of eve-ryone. We’ve put in 120% every single d a y . I t ’ s amazing how far we’ve been able to come.”

The Cana-dians elimi-nated Italy a n d t h e United States

in the group stage, and Australia and Russia in the knockout rounds.

The 19-year-old Auger-Ali-assime lost to Bautista Agut while making his debut in this year’s tournament. He was coming off an ankle injury that had seen him sidelined through the group stage and the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Canada came to Madrid without Milos Raonic because of a back injury. Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil were the only players who had competed until Sunday. Spain beat Russia and Croatia in the group stage, and Argentina and Britain in the knockout rounds.

The new Davis Cup Finals is the result of a 25-year part-nership between the Interna-tional Tennis Federation and the Kosmos group co-founded by Piqué. For the first time, 18 nations played in the same venue in a single week, instead of head-to-head matches that used to take place over four weekends throughout the year.

The tournament returns to Madrid next year.

New Davis Cup proves exciting but calendar still a challengeAP MADRID

Despite its flaws, the new Davis Cup got a passing grade on its first edition, with its modern look being accompanied by plenty of excitement on the court.

But despite the mostly pos-itive reviews, the future success of the revamped tournament still depends on making it fit on a crowed tennis calendar that already has two other team com-petitions trying to establish themselves - the Laver Cup and the ATP Cup.

The top-ranked players on tour - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - don’t think the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup can co-exist. Both suggest a merger would be the best solution.

“I don’t see two World Cups in one month on our calendar. That’s something that I per-sonally don’t see,” said Nadal, who on Sunday led Spain to its sixth Davis Cup title with a win over first-time finalist Canada.

The inaugural ATP Cup, to be played with 24 teams, will take place in January. The Davis Cup debuted in Madrid with 18 teams.

“We have an opportunity to finally have a great competition,” Nadal said. “There is no other way than have only one big, big competition. I think Davis Cup is the right name because it’s part of the history of our sport. And it will be great if we are able to put everything together.”

Djokovic said a “Super Cup” of tennis is possible.

“Scheduling was always an issue, for both ATP Cup and Davis Cup,” he said. “An idea was

the merge between the two. Looking long-term, I personally don’t think that the two events can co-exist six weeks apart. It’s just a little bit too congested.”

The International Tennis Federation signed a 25-year partnership with the Kosmos group co-founded by Barcelona star Gerard Piqué to make the Davis Cup more attractive and lucrative. It transformed the year-long tournament into a one-week event played in a World Cup-style format in a single venue.

“We have to remember, there’s 119-year history that the Davis Cup has and a very important place within tennis and the calendar. The calendar

is the challenge. It always has been,” ITF pres-ident Davis Haggerty said. “But again, we can only control what we can control, and that is Davis Cup. And we’re doing the best that we can. And again, we’ll sit down with other tennis bodies, but can’t m a k e a n y promises on what might happen with other events.”

Piqué said the opinion of players like Nadal and Djokovic needs to be heard. “It

makes no sense to have right now two different competitions that are very similar,” he said. “In the next few months I think we will start talking again with the ATP. And I hope in the next few months we can announce something.”

Piqué said talks with Roger Federer, who co-owns the Laver Cup event that is played between European and world teams, have not advanced recently.

“It’s his baby, his compe-tition, and he wants to protect (it). And I totally understand,” Piqué said. “What we will try to do is to try to put the Davis Cup obviously in another level because we are talking about 119

years of history. You cannot compare both events. But we will try to do the best we can for our competition to make it as big as possible.”

Kosmos and the ITF hope to play the new Davis Cup in Sep-tember instead of making it the season-ending tournament in November. Djokovic said that would make the competition more attractive to players.

“It is the last week of the year. It’s definitely a tough schedule for a lot of players,” Djokovic said. “It’s really difficult because you have a whole season and then you have to push yourself for another week and then eventually play singles, doubles every day.”

The Davis Cup new format, with ties being decided in three matches on the same day, created exciting action in Madrid, giving teams small margins for errors.

Previously, the Davis Cup ties were decided over three days in four singles matches and one doubles.

“The format makes things very close,” Nadal said. “You make a mistake in one singles match and in the doubles any-thing can happen. So things are beautiful that way. But at the same time, for the best teams, it makes things dangerous.”

The change gave extra importance to the doubles matches, which in the old format were played in-between two singles matches. Five of the seven ties in the knockout rounds of the Davis Cup Finals were decided in the doubles matches.

09TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

Spain’s Rafael Nadal (right) takes a selfie photo posing with team-mates and the trophy after winning the final between Canada and Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut celebrates with the trophy after winning the match between Canada and Spain at the Davis Cup Madrid Finals 2019 in Madrid on Sunday.

10 TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019SPORT

QMMF getting ready for Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally in FebruaryTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) is finalising all the meticulous shipping and transportation arrangements to ensure that competitors trav-elling to the 2020 Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally (MQCCR) on February 22nd-27th will have a smooth return passage either from Europe or from competing in January’s Dakar Rally in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The QMMF will cover return shipping costs for a 20-foot con-tainer from Genoa or Rotterdam to Doha. There will also be free shipping for all Dakar compet-itors keen to tackle one of the most demanding rounds of the FIA World Cup.

In addition to shipping con-cessions, teams will be eligible for 600 litres of petrol (motor-cycle riders will receive 250 litres of fuel), in addition to free WiFi, preparation and warehousing facilities, electricity within the

service park at the Losail Sports Arena, a car washing area, free drinking water, a sleeping area and a range of entertainment activities.

Drivers and riders will also receive one night’s free hotel accommodation, a free buffet in the bivouac restaurant, free visa and access to QMMF TV event footage.

Officials at the QMMF are also putting the finishing touches to the new route for the opening round of the 2020 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies and Event Director Pedro Almeida is hoping to have the final draft completed by early December.

The planned opening selective section on February 23rd will run for around 160km and precedes a second leg of 360km on February 24th, a further timed section of 350km on February 25th and two remaining selective sections of 350km and 260km on February 26th and 27th. The QMMF is planning to run around 1,480

competitive kilometres. The QMMF is also looking to run the opening round of the 2020 FIM Baja World Cup in conjunction

with the FIA event. This will take on a two-day format with around 520km of selective sections. As with competitors taking part in

the five-day FIA rally, the QMMF will offer important concessions to all motorcycle and quad riders coming from Europe or from the

Dakar Rally to take part in the new Baja.

Manateq – Economic Zones Company will be the title sponsor of Qatar’s premier off-road rally for the third successive season after giving title support to both the Qatar International Rally and the QCCR from 2018.

The company was estab-lished in 2011 under the Chair-manship of H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Com-merce and Industry, and was positioned as a vital component in achieving the economic development goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, through providing premium infra-structure within strategic eco-nomic zones to promote the logistics and industrial sectors in Qatar.

Fahad Rashid Al Kaabi is Manateq’s CEO, has offered hands-on support to the pro-gression of motor sport in Qatar and regularly attends the events alongside QMMF President Abdulrahman Al Mannai

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah in action at last year’s rally in this file picture.

Spurs banking on Mourinho recovering golden touch in Champions LeagueAFP LONDON

Tottenham turned to Jose Mourinho to try and maintain their status as a Champions League club, but a terrible start to the Premier League season leaves the Portuguese with a mountain to climb either domes-tically or in Europe.

Mourinho’s appointment was not a universally popular one with the Spurs’ support given his past as a two-time Chelsea manager.

He managed to make the right first impression by securing Tottenham’s first away win in the Premier League since January with a 3-2 victory at West Ham on Saturday that was far more comprehensive that the scoreline suggested.

A vital three points cut the gap between Mourinho’s men and the top four to nine points, but strong starts from Liverpool, Leicester, Manchester City and Chelsea mean one of them will have to falter significantly in the coming months to open the door to Spurs.

The fact that Mourinho’s deal signed last week reportedly con-tains a £2m bonus for making the top four is an illustration of how tough a task it will be.

Could winning the Cham-pions League for the first time in the club’s history actually be

Spurs’ best way to secure the riches and prestige of Europe’s premier club competition for a fifth consecutive season?

Under Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked after five-and-a-half years in charge last week, Tottenham improved each year in Europe and last season fell just one hurdle short after a dramatic run to Champions League final.

Despite their dreadful domestic form and a 7-2 thrashing at home to Bayern Munich last month, Pochettino left with his side well-placed to reach the last 16 once more.

Victory over Olympiakos in Mourinho’s home debut tomorrow will secure their passage into the knockout stages.

“I think we can go and win

that match at home and qualify in the Champions League,” said Mourinho, who has a proud record of always qualifying from the Champions League group stages in spells as Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United.

A rejuvenated Spurs could certainly cause problems for some of Europe’s more fancied sides come the new year as they showed in shocking City and Ajax on their way to last season’s final.

Mourinho labelled himself “humble” on his return to man-agement after 11 months out of the game last week, but was quick to point out in his first media briefing that, unlike Tot-tenham, he had never lost a Champions League final.

He has lifted the trophy twice, with Porto and Inter, but the second of those successes came 10 seasons ago and there are questions over whether he is still the man to deliver Cham-pions League glory.

The 56-year-old has failed to win a single knockout tie in the Champions League over the past five years.

The nadir of that run came when the negative approach that has often characterised Mour-inho’s sides came undone for Manchester United against Sevilla in the last 16 of the 2017/18 season.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho during a training session yesterday at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre in London, Britain.

Ronaldo ‘improving’ but in doubt for Atletico clashAFP TURIN, ITALY

Cristiano Ronaldo remains in doubt for tomorrow’s Cham-pions League clash against Atletico Madrid in Turin, Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said yesterday.

The 34-year-old Portuguese international was rested for Sat-urday’s Serie A game against Atalanta which Juventus won 2-1 thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain double to stay top of the Italian league.

“Cristiano trained with his teammates yesterday (Sunday),” said Sarri.

“It seems that his condition is improving but we still have to evaluate between today and tomorrow.

“The positive thing he was able to play throughout the training session with his team-mates.” Defender Matthijs de Ligt, who suffered a dislocated shoulder, and forward Federico Bernardeschi, who bruised his chest, also need to be evaluated, Sarri said.

Ronaldo was substituted in Juventus’s previous two games including their Champions League game at Lokomotiv Moscow with a slight knee problem.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and hit back with four goals to help Portugal qualify for Euro 2020.

“My relationship with Cris-tiano is good,” said Sarri, “if a player who has won so much is angry about being substituted, it means he still has a lot of moti-vation, and this is something positive.”

Juventus are already through to the last 16 and want to finish top of Group D with second-placed Atletico needing a win to guarantee their place.

“Atletico are a difficult side to play against, we have to think we want to qualify being the leader of the group that is our target for tomorrow,” said Sarri.

Sarri conceded he was spoilt for choice up front between Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Higuain.

“We have three very strong strikers for just two roles, I think it is an ideal situation, nobody will be able to play 65 matches, including with the national team,” continued the Juventus coach.

“Playing Dybala, Higuain and Cristiano all together is dif-ficult because of their charac-teristics, but all three know how to play really well and are com-fortable with each other.”

Higuain, who has scored five goals this season, sat alongside Sarri in the press conference, and praise his coach, who he also played under at Napoli and Chelsea.

“Obviously I spent some of the best season’s of my career with Mr Sarri, I know exactly what he wants,” said the 31-year-old Argentine who joined the veteran coach at Chelsea last season after an unhappy five-month loan spell at AC Milan.

“Compared to last year I had to change something in my head and he (Sarri) helped me a lot.

“Mentally and physically I’m in great shape and the manager has been helping me a lot.”

Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri (left) talks to Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session at the Continassa Training Ground in Turin, yesterday on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group D football match against Atletico Madrid.

Real ‘not looking for revenge’ against PSG, says ZidaneAFP MADRID

Zinedine Zidane said that his Real Madrid side are “not looking to get revenge” when they host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League tomorrowafter a 3-0 defeat in France earlier in the group stage.

Pressure mounted on Zidane after that loss at the Parc des Princes in September, but the 13-time European cham-pions have since enjoyed an upturn in fortunes and sit behind leaders Barcelona only on goal difference in La Liga.

Real can join PSG in

securing a last-16 place with victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, or if Club Brugge fail to win at Galatasaray in the other Group A match.

“We aren’t looking to get revenge after what happened earlier in the group,” Zidane said on Monday.

“But we want to play a good game of course and maintain our form.

“It’s the kind of game where you can confirm you’re on a good run. We want to win because we’re at home and we want to play good football.

“I want to see my side play 90 minutes at their best.” Frenchman Zidane was rebuked

by PSG sporting director Leonardo earlier this month for comments about a possible move for his compatriot Kylian Mbappe, when he said the Paris forward’s “dream is to play for Real Madrid”.

The 47-year-old made clear again his admiration for Mbappe ahead of the encounter.

“You know that I’ve known Mbappe for a long time and that I’m in love with him as a person because of when he came here on trial a long time ago,” said Zidane.

“Having said that, he’s our opponent and there’s no more to it.” Real have recovered in the Champions League after also

being held to a 2-2 home draw by Brugge in their second game, beating Galatasaray home and away including a 6-0 thrashing in Madrid last time out.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is hoping the Spanish giants can show how far they have come since the loss in Paris. “The first meeting with them helped us learn a lot -- it wasn’t a good game but we’ve improved a lot lately,” said the Belgian.

“It’s not revenge, more wanting to get one over on another big team who have aspirations to win the Cham-pions League and we need to show how good we are.”

Saudis arrive for Arabian Gulf Cup ‘Sodeifi’ ready as the show begins Saudi Arabian players arrive in Doha for the Arabian Gulf Cup yesterday. The Saudis are in Group B of the eight-nation tournament. The group also includes Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

11TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019 SPORT

Yemen target positive result as UAE eye first points in QatarARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

Rank outsiders Yemen will be looking to spring a few surprises when they take on two-time winners UAE in the Group B match of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup here today at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Ranked 141 on the FIFA com-puter, Yemen will be looking end their winless drought at the pres-tigious regional championship when they take on new- look UAE side, coached by Dutch great Bert van Marwijk.

Yemen have featured in 27 matches in eight editions, losing 22 of them while drawing five games.

But their coach Sami Hassan Al Hadi, warned Yemen won’t be an easy prey for their other group opponents in the Gulf Cup.

“I am delighted to be back in Doha. We have played some good games in previous Gulf Cup tournaments but we are still looking for our first win,” Al Hadi told a pre-match press con-ference yesterday.

“We have managed to get some draw results and played some memorable matches. Our goal is to play a high standard of football and achieve the first victory that will delight everyone in our country and bring smiles to their faces,” he said.

The Yemeni coach is taking confidence from the impressive results his team has posted in recent months in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Yemen have won one and drawn two matches so far in their group to have a tally of five points from five matches. The most impressive of the results are the 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia and a 1-0 win against Palestine.

Uzbekistan lead the group followed by Saudi Arabia, Sin-gapore with Yemen in the fourth place in the five-team group.

Al Hadi said due to the pre-vailing civil war in the country no league is taking place but he said the team has performed well in recent tournaments.

“We all hope for positive results. We all know that Yemen league has stopped for a couple of years now, but we have ben-efited from participating in the West Asian Championship and the Asian (FIFA World Cup) qual-ifiers and I expect a positive show and this is what we hope.

The current team has played 10 games and it is developing,” he said.

The Yemeni coach, however, expects a tough task lays ahead for his team in their group.

“We have played against strong teams in the qualifiers (FIFA World Cup) and in West Asia and we respect everyone. Our group includes Qatar, Iraq and UAE which are strong sides, “ he said.

He is hoping lot of Yemen fans will turn up for their matches and support them.

“We hope we have a big presence of fans and it is a pleasure to play in front of our fans in Qatar”.

Meanwhile, UAE coach Van Marwijk, who took over in March this year, said that his team is fully prepared to kick-start their campaign against Yemen.

“Last week we played with Vietnam (in the FIFA 2022 World

Cup qualifiers and 2023 Asian Cup), and then we suddenly knew we had to participate in the 24th Gulf and we worked for a week to prepare for the match and we are ready,” he said yesterday.

Asked if there was any pressure on his team, Marvik, the 66-year-old, who led the Neth-erlands to the 2010 World Cup final said: “At the beginning of the championship we have no pressure at all. It is true that we learned late about our

participation, but we are ready for Yemen and I am not thinking of anything other than taking on Yemen.”

Marvik, who took over as coach after UAE’s disastrous campaign in the Asian Cup where they lost to eventual champions Qatar 4-0 in the semi-finals, has brought a young side to Qatar which is in a tran-sitional phase.

In the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers and 2023 Asian Cup, UAE are struggling having lost

two and won an equal number, out of the four matches they have played so far. Regarding the impact of the team’s loss in the twin qualifiers against Vietnam and Thailand, Marvik said: “We played four games in the (FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers and 2023 Asian Cup) qualifiers and I was not satisfied with the way we played against Thailand, but with Vietnam we played well and I am satisfied with the per-formance of the players and we were not lucky as one of the players got the red card after only 30 minutes.”

“I have full confidence in all the players, my experience will help me deal with this, and I know very well how to deal with these circumstances,” he added.

Speaking about the presence of a large number of young players, Marvik said: “Experi-ments have shown that induction of new players into the team from time to time have always proved successful and this will work and there are many talents in the UAE league, he added.

Yemen coach Sami Hassan Al Hadi (left) along with captain Salem Awad, speaks during a press conference yesterday.

UAE coach Bert van Marwijk (left) along with defender Hamdan Al Kamali addresses a press conference yesterday.

Our goal is to play a high

standard of football

and achieve the first

victory that will delight

everyone in our country

and bring smiles to their

faces: Yemen coach Sami

Hassan Al Hadi

At the beginning of the

championship we have

no pressure at all. It is

true that we learned late

about our participation,

but we are ready for

Yemen: UAE coach Bert

van Marwijk

The 24th Arabian Gulf Cup’s mascot ‘Sodeifi’ is ready for the show, which begins today. ‘Sodeifi’ also made trips to Kuwait and Oman recently in the build up of the event.

Saudi Arabia and UAE arrive in Doha for CupQNA DOHA

Saudi national football team arrived to participate in the 24th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, which begins in Doha today.

The Saudi team received an official reception upon arrival at Hamad International Airport before heading to their residence.

The final list of the team will include Mohammed Al Yami, Fawaz Al Qarni and Amin Bukhari.

The defense line includes Ziad Al Sahafi, Mohammed Khabrani, Hassan Timbukti, Sultan Al Ghannam, Mohammed Al-Buraik, Saud Abdul Hamid and Yasser Al Shahrani. Abdullah Atif, Mohammed Kanno, Abdulelah Al Malki, Salman Al-Faraj, Turki Al Ammar, Yahya Al-Shehri, Abdulaziz Al Bishi, Nawaf Al-Abed, Salem Al Dosari and Abdul-Fattah Asiri will line up in the middle, while Hattan Bahabri, Firas Al-Burikan and , Abdullah Al Hamdan will line up in the offensive.

Al Hilal players, who won the Asian Champions League, will arrive at the Qatari capital today.

Saudi Arabia will play in Group B alongside Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the UAE national team also arrived in Doha yesterday.

The UAE team received an official reception upon arrival at Hamad International Airport before heading to their residence.

Later in the evening, the team underwent its first training session in one of the stadiums in preparation for match against Yemen.

The final list of the UAE team includes 24 players - Ali Khasif, Salem Rashid, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Mohammed Al Attas, Waleed Hussein, Mohammed Marzouk, Yousef Jaber, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil, Khalid Issa, Ahmad Burman, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Hamdan Al Kamali, Khalil Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Sorour, Shaheen Abdul-rahman, Tariq Ahmed, Jassim Yacoub and Ali Saleh.

The team will play in Group A alongside Qatar, Iraq and Yemen.

The match between hosts Qatar and the UAE will be played on December 2.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Eight regional sides, all itching to have their hands on the coveted trophy, are set to begin their quest at the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup which kicks off today with Asian cham-pions Qatar taking on Iraq in the opening match.

Team Qatar goes into today’s opener with an upper hand owing to their phe-nomenal run of form this year but coach Felix Sanchex is not taking things for granted.

The Spaniard, who coached Al Annabi to their maiden Asian Cup triumph in February, wants his players to keep aside all their achieve-ments and focus on the opening match of the eight-nation tournament at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium, which kicks off at 7:30pm.

After winning Asian Cup in the UAE, Qatar impressed on their Copa America debut and our currently leading their group in joint qualifiers for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the 2023 Asian Cup.

“This is a new tournament and we have to play from scratch as things here are dif-ferent,” Sanchez told a pre-match press conference while playing down the ‘favourites’ tag.

“After Afghanistan’s (qual-ifying event) match, the team has been preparing well and we are ready for the Gulf Cup. It is not going to be an easy match as Iraq have a strong side who play well,” he added.

The three-time cham-pions, Qatar head Group A, which also have the UAE and Yemen, and Sanchez said even the first stage of the event is a tough challenge.

“Our goal is to advance from game to game. We know that UAE and Iraq are very stubborn opponents and we have to play seriously for 90 minutes and adapt to the cir-cumstances,” Sanchez said at a packed press conference yesterday.

Sanchez stressed that today’s opening match against Iraq holds utmost importance as his team seeks rare trophy double this year.

“We started well in the Asian Cup and we managed very good results after that match. In such Gulf Cup tour-naments when there are four teams, winning the opening will give you a boost,” said the Qatari coach.

“We must admit that the beginning is difficult, but winning it pushes you forward and this has been experienced in the Asian nations.

“It is very important but not decisive, there are also other factors too,” Sanchez pointed out.

‘Good practice for FIFA World Cup’

Sanchez said expectations from the home fans will help Qatar prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“In order to prepare for the World Cup we must play such matches,” Sanchez said.

“Playing in Doha in these competitions is important with the support of the Qatari fans and we hope this will motivate us to offer a good tournament,” he added.

Asked whether his team would be under pressure due to expectations of home fans, Sanchez said yesterday: “It is good to play under pressure in the Gulf Cup, as we did in the AFC and Copa America. We have to deal with each game separately.”

To a query, the Spanish coach admitted that it was a dif-ficult task for hims to finalise the team.

“All the players are doing well and have different profiles. Selecting the squad has been a difficult task,” he said.

Iraq hope to spring ‘a surprise’

Iraq’s build-up for the Gulf Cup has not been ideal as they have come to Qatar with just 11 players and two goalkeepers

due to injuries and non-availa-bility of players who are busy with Al Shorta Club’s commitments.

“It’s a funny situation for us. It is hard to have so few players, so it is very difficult to predict what will happen,” Iraq coach Srecko Katanec said yesterday.

“The Gulf Cup is a good opportunity to have new players in the squad, but all the players are aware that the opportunity they were given was well deserved,” Katanec said.

The Slovenian coach, however said despite problems in the build up, Iraq have the potential to pull of a good result against the hosts.

“It’s football and anything is happen in this sport. You cannot predict results in football and we hope for best results,” said Katanec.

“To play against one of the best Asian teams is wonderful and the atmosphere here is very wonderful, tomorrow (today) everything is possible and our situation is difficult but I have no excuses,” he added.

The other match today will be played between Yemen and the UAE.

Our goal is to advance from game to game. We know that UAE and Iraq are very stubborn opponents and we have to play seriously for 90 minutes and adapt to the circumstances: Coach Felix Sanchez

SPORTPAGE | 09 PAGE | 10

Nadal, grieving Bautista Agut lead Spain to

Davis Cup title

Spurs banking on Mourinho recovering golden touch in Champions League

Tuesday 26 November 2019

ng

Gulf Cup: Qatar seek winning start as depleted Iraq hope for a ‘surprise’

Qatar’s coach Felix Sanchez Iraq coach Srecko Katanec

Trophy double: Captain Al Haydos wants to take one step at a time

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

A title-triumph at the Arabian Gulf Cup will be icing on the cake for Qatar’s outstanding year on the field.

Hassan Al Haydos, who became the first Qatari captain to lift the Asian Cup title in the UAE in February, is aware of Al Annabi’s prospects of clinching a rare trophy double by winning the regional tournament.

The seasoned striker is also eager to achieve the feat, but, he doesn’t want to get over excited with the Gulf Cup kicking off today.

“We have this (trophy double) in our minds,” Al Haydos told a press conference ahead of today’s opening match of the Gulf Cup against Iraq.

“We will have to go step by step and focus on the coming match. We have to forget that we are the Asian champions. Right now we face Iraq in our first match and this is our focus. It is

going to be a difficult match,” the Qatari captain said yesterday.

“The support of home fans will be a huge motivation for us as we target full points in the opening match. It is an important match,” he added.

He stressed that his team was focused and will not show com-placency due to their superior form than their opponents in recent months.

“We do not think we are Asian champions because this (Gulf Cup) is a different tournament and we have to deal with each game sep-arately,” the Qatari captain said before adding that his team is well prepared.

“Our preparation started early due to the ongoing qualifying games. It’s a special tournament for all of us and we are ready,” he said.

To a question, Al Haydos said his priority has always been to help the team.

“My goal is to lead the team to victory and I am not just thinking about scoring goals. As a team we believe in collective effort,” said the Qatari captain.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s Ali Adnan said despite a difficult build-up to the Gulf Cup, his team was ready to face an in-form Qatari side.

“Despite missing players due to injuries, our preparations are

up to the standard. We had three training sessions and our morale is high. This is an important tour-nament for us and we are looking to start it on a positive note,” Adnan told reporters, yesterday.

“We have a tough group but we are not feeling any pressure. I hope we will do well in the tour-nament. We want to put smiles back on our Iraqi brothers by getting good results in the tour-nament,” he added.

The Iraqi player also reposed confidence in team selection by coach Srecko Katanec.

“All Iraqi players are important to us and the coach chose 23 players and everyone should respect this decision. All of us are able to raise the reputation of Iraq. Everyone here is ready to represent Iraq,” said Adnan.

Team Qatar goes into

today’s opener with

an upper hand owing

to their phenomenal

run of form this year,

having won the Asian

Cup in the UAE before an

impressive show in their

Copa America debut.

The three-time

champions, Qatar

head Group A, which

also have the UAE and

Yemen, and Sanchez

said even the first stage

of the event is a tough

challenge.

My goal is to lead the team to victory and I am not just thinking about scoring goals. As a team we believe in collective effort: Hassan Al Haydos

Qatari skipper Hassan Al Haydos speaks during a press conference held in Doha yesterday ahead of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup.

Qatari players taking part in a training session

yesterday, on the eve of their

opening match of the 24th Gulf Cup

against Iraq.