The Yemeni national team is looking for its first victory in the history of its participation in the Gulf Cup, which began in 2003, while Algerian coach Noureddine Ould Ali asks his players not to play the role of “victim.”

The Yemeni team appeared for the first time in the Gulf Championship in 2003, hosted by Kuwait, and returns to Kuwait this year after achieving only 6 draws compared to losing 27 times.

The Yemenis remember well December 28, 2003, which was their first appearance in the tournament, which was approaching its fifty-fifth year since its inception. At that time, Shadi Jamal scored the equalizer against the Omani national team, which was the first goal for Yemen in the history of its participation in the tournament, but it suffered two heavy losses after that. 5-1 and 4-0 against Bahrain and Kuwait, respectively.

Algerian coach Ould Ali told Agence France-Presse: I told the players that we must not be the victim team in any competition or any match, even if it is friendly and simple. We must not accept that.

In the next edition, hosted by Qatar, the Yemenis were content with a point in a draw against Bahrain, and they did the same in the 2007 UAE tournament after a draw with Kuwait and two losses.

The Yemeni national team did not obtain any points in its participation in the 2009 Amman tournament, and lost all its matches in the group stage of the tournament that it hosted a year later.

The Yemeni team recorded its best results in the 2014 Saudi tournament, as it was close to qualifying for the semi-finals, but it fell behind only one point behind the UAE in the first group runner-up after obtaining two points from two draws and a loss.