The UAE head coach Zlatko Dalic was gracious in defeat following his team’s 2-0 loss to host Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup final on Tuesday.
The Saudis stunned the UAE with two early goals at the 60,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
Backed by their passionate fans, the Saudis dominated the early stages of the match.
But the UAE fought back, gaining control of the midfield as they looked to find holes in the Saudi defence.
The UAE also earned a penalty in the 38th minute of the contest which was later overturned by VAR in a very late decision.
Dalic, though, admitted that Saudi Arabia played better football in the final and deserved to win the title.
“I congratulate Saudi Arabia. They deserved to win the title. We faced a very strong team that did not make mistakes, and they deserved to win the final,” the Croatian coach was quoted as saying by Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
The veteran coach also admitted that playing Saudi Arabia in a big final in front of their home fans is a big challenge.
“Playing in front of the Saudi crowd put a lot of pressure on us. At the start of the match we made mistakes that should not happen in matches like these. Individual errors were the main reason for our loss today,” he said.
“We conceded two early goals, and we had a chance to score from a penalty kick. After the first 20 minutes we did not get back into the match the way we needed to, and we should have produced a better performance and pressed more.”
Dalic, who famously guided Croatia to a runners-up finish in the 2018 World Cup, was pleased with how the UAE performed in the tournament.
The two-time winners started their campaign in style, beating Yemen 4-0 before dismantling defending champions Bahrain 3-0 in Group B.
The Whites then staged a brilliant fightback to earn a 1-1 draw against Qatar in their final match of the group stage.
Oman put up a spirited challenge in the semifinal, but the UAE managed to win the contest 1-0.
While the team delivered solid all-round performances, Ousmane Camara, Nicolás Giménez and Ali Saleh grabbed the headlines, scoring two goals each in the tournament.
Dalic, whose team is made up of foreign-born players and exciting homegrown talents, is confident of building on the runners-up finish in the Gulf Cup.
“We put on a good tournament, and I am generally satisfied with what we offered, aside from today’s match,” he said.
“We will learn from this tournament, build on the positives and address the negatives, and we will work on developing UAE football and preparing for the upcoming challenges.”
The next challenge for the UAE is the 2027 Asian Cup (January 7-February 5) in Saudi Arabia before they turn their attention to the 2030 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign.
Dalic was roped in to help the UAE qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.
A Gulf Cup final appearance was certainly a positive start for Dalic in his first tournament as the new UAE head coach.
Source: Khaleej Times