UAE and Qatar vie for the leadership of Group B

In the semi-finals, the winner of Group B will play the runner-up of Group A, and the runner-up will play the leader of Group A.

UAE's Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić stressed that "our goal is clear, which is to win and finish the group stage at the top, and we will try to maintain team cohesion and stability."

He added, "Even if a draw is enough for us, I don't usually play for a point, but I always push my team to seek victory, and we are not thinking about the identity of our opponent in the semi-finals, whether Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Both are strong, and we are ready to face any team because I trust my team."

The UAE delivered a remarkable performance in their 4-0 win over Yemen and 3-0 win over Bahrain, and hopes to finish the group stage with a maximum point tally for the first time since "Gulf 21" in Bahrain in 2013 on their way to winning the second title in their history.

The 2018 World Cup runner-up with Croatia said: "What we have presented so far is good, but we have the ability to offer more. We have up to 20 players at the same level, and this gives us good options for the future. We will give the opportunity (against Qatar) to a number of players who did not participate because I believe in everyone's abilities, and at the same time we will try to maintain team cohesion and ensure stability."

Al-Abyad will miss the services of their striker Yuri Cesar after he left injured towards the end of the first half of their match against Bahrain, but on the other hand, they can rely on the latter's Shabab Al-Ahli teammate Igor Guilherme, who marked his international debut with a wonderful goal.

"We are still at the beginning of the road"

In addition to being the owner of the best attack with 7 goals, the UAE shares the best defense with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as the three teams have kept clean sheets so far.

The UAE also achieved a notable record by finishing the matches against Yemen and Bahrain without conceding a single shot on target.

Dalić said, "Yes, we scored 7 goals and kept clean sheets, but this does not reflect the whole picture. We are still at the beginning of the road. I ask my team to play attacking football, while maintaining a strong defense and having the team work as a whole for that."

For its part, Qatar hopes to achieve its third consecutive victory, but is well aware of the difficulty of its mission against its neighbor the UAE, especially since it struggled to defeat Yemen 1-0 in the second round.

Its Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui praised the spirit shown by his team against Yemen, especially since he made a number of changes.

He said, "I made some changes due to the fatigue suffered by some players under the pressure of matches during the current period, but in football, you have to deal with things step by step, and there are many details that happen during matches."

He explained, "So far I have not definitively determined who will play, especially since the players are still in the recovery phase, but I always try to choose the best and most prepared elements."

He stressed that the coaching staff will need to wait until the completion of the first round results to know the identity of the next opponent in the tournament, emphasizing his respect for all participating teams.

He said, "We will wait for the outcome of the remaining matches and determine the team we will face in the semi-finals, and we will deal with all teams with the same degree of challenge and competitiveness."

Defending champion Bahrain will meet Yemen at the same time in a dead rubber match after both were eliminated from the competition with two consecutive defeats.