Abu Dhabi: UAE coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena announced the final squad to participate in the 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup “Gulf 25”.
The tournament will be held in the Iraqi city of Basra from Jan. 6 to 19.
The squad of 26 players includes goalkeeper Khalid Issa, Ali Khasif, Khaled Al Sanani, Hassan Al Mahrami, Khalid Al Hashemi, Shahin Abdulrahman, Khalid Al Dhanhani, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Walid Abbas, Abdulaziz Haikal, Ahmed Jamil, Abdul Salam Mohammed, Walid Falah, Khalid Al Balushi, Majid Rashid, Majid Hassan, Mohammed Abdul Basit, Abdullah Ramadan, Hussein Mahdi, Ali Saleh, Fabio Lima, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Sebastian Tagliabue, Hareb Abdullah, Yahya Al Ghassani, and Caio Canedo.
The UAE national team will start their Gulf 25’s matches against Bahrain on January 7, in Group B, which also includes Qatar and Kuwait.
Meanwhile, former Kuwait goalkeeper Abd Al Ridha Abbas said Gulf 25 will see large crowd during the matches.
“The Iraqi people are eager to host the people of the Gulf, and we in the Gulf are happy that we will be in Iraq and Basra to convey our greetings and longings to the Iraqi people and support this good country,” Abbas said in a statement.
Abbas stressed that the “Gulf 25” edition will be distinguished by the presence of everyone and the concerted efforts that managed to prepare for this great event in record time.
