#360view: Saudi's greatest asset could prove their undoing

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  • Hostile home: The King Fahd stadium in Riyadh.

    The UAE will be taking on an entire nation tonight when the fight for a Gulf Cup final spot begins against hosts Saudi Arabia.

    – UAE hitman Mabkhout has his eyes on the prize
    – Saudi manager believes side can pull off 'big win' over UAE
    – Ali confident side can cope with hostile hosts

    A huge test is being billed for the Whites versus opponents that have improved steadily under coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro and boast the imposing King Fahd International Stadium as their fortress. But the feeling cannot be dismissed that it will be Green Falcons running the gauntlet, rather than the holders.

    Experience football in the Kingdom and you cannot fail to miss the all-consuming effect it has on its people and media. Passions run high in a country that takes the sport so very seriously.

    A chorus of car horns greet celebrated victories, scores risking their lives by hanging out of windows to wave the national flag as they race through the bumpy Riyadh roadways at high speed.

    Each press conference is an interrogation, the highest standards demanded for a nation that is both the Arabian Gulf’s most populous and successful in international competition.

    Intense debates between 10-man panels run late into the night, Khaleej 22 and the hopes of the hosts the hottest topic of conversation.

    The minutia of every choice made by Lopez Caro is analysed, to often heated effect. Rather unfairly, the ex-Real Madrid boss has long-since extinguished the credit earned by an all-conquering Asian Cup qualification campaign.

    Critics’ barbs dominate each increasingly-tetchy media event, only the sight of veteran captain Saud Kariri lifting the trophy on Wednesday evening will grant acceptance.

    This sense of expectation is all too palpable inside the King Fahd.

    Certainly, the Spaniard was left under no illusions during an awful second half of the tournament opener that saw dreary Qatar claim a 1-1 draw. Whistles echoed around the stadium at full-time, the disappointment extending to the second Group A game against Bahrain when barely half a stadium’s worth of supporters turned out.

    Perform well and partisan encouragement is guaranteed, though when things go wrong there is nowhere to hide.

    UAE coach Mahdi Ali was quizzed about the power of the King Fahd crowd after progression to the last-four was secured by Thursday’s 2-0 win against Iraq.

    Journalists expecting to receive a deferential answer were left disappointed when he countered that a full stadium could in fact help his team.

    An early goal from the UAE tonight will turn the atmosphere mutinous. Get on the front foot, and a collapse of morale should be enforced.

    The UAE have been far too supine thus far in Saudi Arabia, with one noticeable exception. For the first 30 minutes against Kuwait, the side that thrilled in Bahrain during the previous Gulf Cup reappeared in technicolour.

    Omar Abdulrahman looked every inch the superstar, Amer Abdulrahman was omnipresent while Ali Mabkhout finished two chances with aplomb. The vibrancy died off as Kuwait fought back to 2-2 and was missing entirely during the often-interminable triumph against Iraq.

    Rediscover the verve of the opening skirmishes from the Kuwait clash and Saudi Arabia will feel the pressure of an entire nation crashing down on them.

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