Green Falcons ready for crunch Arabian Gulf Cup clash with Iraq

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Saudi Arabia concluded on Sunday preparations for their match against Iraq in the second round of matches at the Arabian Gulf Cup. (Supplied)
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Saudi Arabia concluded on Sunday preparations for their match against Iraq in the second round of matches at the Arabian Gulf Cup. (Supplied)
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Saudi Arabia concluded on Sunday preparations for their match against Iraq in the second round of matches at the Arabian Gulf Cup. (Supplied)
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Saudi Arabia concluded on Sunday preparations for their match against Iraq in the second round of matches at the Arabian Gulf Cup. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 January 2023
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Green Falcons ready for crunch Arabian Gulf Cup clash with Iraq

  • It is the Green Falcon's second Group A match in the tournament, which will be held at a full Basra International Stadium

BASRA: Saudi Arabia concluded on Sunday preparations for their match against Iraq in the second round of matches at the Arabian Gulf Cup on Monday.

It is the Green Falcon's second Group A match in the tournament, which will be held at Basra International Stadium.

The training session was held at Al-Fayhaa Stadium in Basra, under the supervision of coach Saad Al-Shehri and technical staff.

Assistant technical director Ahmed Al-Ruwaie explained during a press conference after the session that the Saudi players will be used to the hostile and partizan atmosphere from Iraq fans in what is expected to be a full stadium.

“We started working directly for (Monday’s) match, which undoubtedly will not be easy, given that the Iraqi national team is technically strong, and has the ground and the support,” Al-Ruwaie said. “But in modern football, technical readings and analysis is involved, so we will be fully prepared,” he added.

He also spoke about correcting technical errors that Saudi Arabia showed at times during the last match against Yemen, adding: “Certainly, work is always done to correct errors and avoid falling into them, which is something that occurs in football, we take it step by step.”

Player Saad Al-Nasser explained during the press conference that the Green Falcons squad are looking forward to the match with Iraq, and praised the hospitality and good reception he and his teammates have received and welcome from the Iraqi fans.


Sudan beat Equatorial Guinea for rare AFCON win

Updated 28 December 2025
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Sudan beat Equatorial Guinea for rare AFCON win

  • Unlucky Torino center-back Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute

CASABLANCA: Sudan boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations after a Saul Coco own goal gave them a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.

Unlucky Torino center-back Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute in Casablanca when his teammate Luis Asue attempted to clear a Sudan free-kick.

Sudan won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970 but this is just their second victory in 18 matches across six appearances at the tournament since then.

They lie 117th in the FIFA world rankings, compared to Equatorial Guinea in 97th.

The win leaves Kwesi Appiah’s team on three points from two games in Group E, while Equatorial Guinea have lost both matches so far.

Sudan are competing at this AFCON in Morocco despite the country having been devastated since war broke out between the army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

They will play Burkina Faso in their last group game on Wednesday and will be aiming to reach the knockout stages of the Cup of Nations for just the second time since that 1970 triumph — they got to the quarter-finals in 2012 before losing to eventual winners Zambia.