Sousa tells players to enjoy the moment

Bahrain head coach Helio Sousa called on the national team players to enjoy the moment as they play one of the biggest games of their careers against Iraq this evening in the semi-finals of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup in Doha. Bahrain are looking to qualify for the gold medal match for only the fifth time in the event’s history, and are also hoping to capture the coveted title they have never won. Sousa described today’s clash as “an amazing game” and a “great moment” that the Bahrainis have been building towards ever since he first took over in the summer of this year.

“This is one more great moment for us to play and to show what we can do, and we must have fun with it,” Sousa said yesterday in his pre-match Press conference. “Two great teams will play,” he added, while noting that it will be Bahrain’s fourth meeting with Iraq since mid-August – with the first being Bahrain’s triumph in the final of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship and then the next two being draws in their pair of joint-qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup 2023.

“What these two teams have done these last months shows the quality that we have as a team and the quality of our players. The two teams respect one another and know what each other can do. “It will be an amazing game for us and for the crowd. We have a great pleasure to play Iraq and each time we play against each other for sure each has a chance to win. In these four games, the probabilities for winning are there for each team. “Our players must have great will, great capacity, great compromise and great quality too.

Together we build a way of playing that is able to face any team of Asia and we think in the future against any team in the world. “This has been our way in five months– we reached one final [WAFF] and won it; we are doing well in the qualifiers but could be better; and now we reach the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup. For sure, we want more but I think it’s amazing what our players are doing and what we are achieving.”

Sousa said that the national team’s preparations for today’s game have been the same as for their previous fixtures, and he will also likely use a similar strategy as the one Bahrain employed in their 4-2 victory over Kuwait on Monday which sent them through to the final four. “Our preparations are the same; we are focused on ourselves, what we do, and we are preparing for one more fantastic game,” he said.

“We are very happy with ourselves with what we are doing, giving great moments to our fans. And the crowd that is coming to the stadiums, it is one great moment. “We know we are facing one great team; we already saw what they can do against other great teams from Asia and we are here to fight again to be able to be in the best conditions to keep winning and to win one more game. We will do all for that, for sure.”

Bahrain’s semi-final against Iraq has been given an earlier kick-off time of 5pm and it will be played at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha. The other last four clash between Saudi Arabia and Qatar kicks off at 8pm at the South Stadium. Both contests will go on for extra time and penalties should the score be tied at the end of regular time, or at the end of the extra sessions.