Calderon: 4 Semi finalists have equal chances

Bahrain head coach Gabriel Calderon believes the four teams remaining in the 21st Gulf Cup are all capable of winning the coveted crown. Defending champions Kuwait, unbeaten sides UAE and Iraq, and hosts Bahrain are all worthy of their place in the last four, the Argentine tactician said, and none of them must be taken lightly. "Now, it's wide open, for everybody," Calderon said on the sidelines of the national team's morning training session held at the Al Ahli Club in Mahooz. "All the teams that should be in the semi-finals have qualified." The round of four is scheduled to be played tomorrow with Kuwait facing the UAE at 4.15pm and Iraq taking on Bahrain at 7.45pm. Both games will be played at the National Stadium in Riffa. Calderon will have his work cut out for him in preparing the home side for their clash with the in-form Iraqis, who have blazed through the group stage with three wins from as many games and not having conceded a goal yet. "We are playing against a very strong team," Calderon admitted. "Tactic, physique, technique - Iraq is very strong. "Our team is a little tired, but the players have been playing well and we hope we can continue this in the semi-finals." Bahrain have yet to win the Gulf Cup ever since the first edition of the competition was held in 1970. Calderon vowed that the nationals will spare no effort in trying to achieve the best result they can over their last two matches. Following the semi-finals, the match for third place and the final will both be held on Friday. "Iraq will be a tough game, but we will strive to move on to the final," Calderon said. "We respect all teams, but we will do our best. We will try and play our style of football." Calderon said that he doesn't plan on making any major changes in preparing his side for Iraq. "We will be doing the same, working hard and preparing in all aspects," he explained. Bahrain head into their semi-final clash tomorrow as underdogs, having barely staved off elimination and only securing their berth in their last Group 'A' game. The Iraqis have yet to be beaten nor have they allowed any goals to be scored against them. They topped Group 'B' with a maximum nine points from three games, whereas Bahrain had only four points in advancing as their devision's runners-up. Against Iraq, the Bahrainis will rely on the sturdy backline of skipper Mohammed Hussain, Abdulla Al Marzooqi, Rashed Al Hooti, Abdulla Omar and goalkeeper Sayed Mohammed Jaffar to keep them in the match. Their teammates must then rise to the challenge in attack and threaten the Iraqi goal as much as they can. Talented midfielders Faouzi Aaish, Mohammed Salmeen and Abdulwahab Al Malood will be joined up front by attackers Ismaeel Abdullatif and Sami Al Hossani, who hope to end their goal-scoring drought in the competition and lead Bahrain to the championship game. To date, the nationals have scored just once in open play through Al Malood. Their only other goal of the tournament came on a penalty from Aaish, which was the one that sent them through to the last four. The Iraqis, meanwhile, have been impressive on both ends of the pitch, finding the net in each of their three games which all ended with clean sheets. They are coached by Iraqi national Hakeem Shaker, and will once again look to veteran captain Younes Mahmoud for inspiration. The team also have a few talented young players in Ahmed Yaseen, Hammadi Ahmed, Ghurdab Ismaeel, and Salam Shakir, while goalkeeper Noor Sabri has been steady between the posts. Kuwait too had to take a tough route into the semi-finals. Coached by Serbian Goran Tufegdzic, they only secured their place with a narrow 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in their final Group 'B' game. Yousef Al Salman, Bader Al Mutawa, Fahad Alenezi and Abdulhadi Khamis have been their best players in the tournament. The UAE is set to pose a tough challenge for the defending champions, with Mahdi Ali and his men widely considered to be the title favourites at this point of competition. The Emiratis have been prolific in attack, scoring seven goals in the opening stages and winning all their matches. In the last four, they will be aiming to maintain their winning ways and end Kuwait's reign. Top players Omar Abdulrahman, Ahmed Khalil, Ali Alhajri, Ebrahim Mattar, Mohammed Ahmad, are all capable of greatly influencing a match and they will be looking to lead their team to victory. From : BNA