Noureddine Ould Ali, coach of the Yemeni national football team, said on Saturday that he will play with the spirit of a competitor, not a victim, in the Gulf Cup Football Championship (Gulf 26) in Kuwait.

Yemen is playing its first match against Iraq in the second group, which also includes Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He has never won the championship title before or passed the group stage, and he will seek to achieve a historic achievement by qualifying for the knockout stage.

Ould Ali said in a press conference that he will enter the field as “a competitor like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.” He added: “I know that my players will be men on the field, and they will not be victims, neither big nor small.”

The Algerian coach continued: “The Yemeni has a history and is a man, and I built on these matters in my dealings with the players.”

Regarding his match against Iraq, the defending champion, he said: “We have a great incentive to play against a big team like Iraq.”

He pointed out that the Yemeni team trained according to the capabilities available to it, and also played in recent months against the Emirates and Bahrain.

He added: “There is contact with the Gulf school, and, God willing, the performance will be good... and the discipline will be high.”

He explained that Iraq played in different ways in the last three matches and its percentage of possession of the ball varied, pointing out that his team will do what needs to be done on the field.

Ould Ali refused to delve into expectations about the matches and the future of the tournament. He explained that he is focusing on training today, then the first match and the tasks that follow.