Gulf summit for the “bronze” of the Arab Cup

The first national football team is looking forward to achieving a moral victory and reconciling with its fans, when it faces its counterpart, the Saudi national team, at three in the evening today, at Khalifa International Stadium, in the match to determine third and fourth places, within the closing day of the 2025 Arab Cup tournament held in Doha.

“Al-Abyad” is seeking to win third place and the bronze medal, after failing to reach the final match after losing to the Moroccan team with three unanswered goals in the semi-finals, while the Saudi team lost to its Jordanian counterpart with a clean goal.

The confrontation against a strong competitor the size of the Saudi national team, which qualifies for the 2026 World Cup, represents a new opportunity for the technical staff, led by Romanian Elario Cosmin, to work on addressing the defensive errors and lapses, as well as the offensive weakness that accompanied the team’s performance, especially in its last match against Morocco.

The match has a special character, as it represents a traditional Gulf summit that is always characterized by strength, competition and excitement in light of the long history of official and friendly confrontations between the two teams. The last official confrontation that brought them together ended in a goalless draw, on December 25, 2017, in the group stage of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament “Gulf 23”, which was held in Kuwait.

It is expected that the technical staff of the national team will make some simple changes to the starting lineup, according to the physical and health condition of the players, and the extent of their readiness, in light of the fatigue suffered by some members, as a result of the pressure of the matches and the lack of sufficient rest periods since the start of the tournament, in addition to a number of players being exposed to varying injuries, which may make their participation an uncalculated adventure.

During the match, Cosmin bets on a number of winning cards in the national team’s ranks, if they reach the required physical and technical readiness, most notably Nicolas Jimenez, Caio Lucas, Bruno Oliveira, and Yahya Al-Ghassani.

On the other hand, the Saudi national team seeks to achieve victory, obtain third place and the bronze medal, and reconcile with its fans after failing to compete for the championship title in preparation for the 2026 World Cup finals, after the draw placed it in the eighth group alongside the teams of Spain, Cape Verde, and Uruguay.

The Saudi “Green” club, led by its French coach Hervé Renard, includes a group of distinguished players who led the team to deservedly qualify for the 2026 World Cup, including Muhammad Kanno, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Firas Al-Braikan, and Salem Al-Dosari.