Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, manager of the Qatari national team, expressed regret over penalty shootouts causing Al-Annabi to exit the Gulf Cup "Khaleeji 27" tournament from the semi-finals at the hands of the Saudi Arabian team.
The Saudi Arabia national team defeated Qatar in a penalty shootout after the match ended in a goalless draw, advancing to the final.
Lopetegui said in remarks reported by the Saudi sports newspaper Ar-Riyadh: "We feel sad about not qualifying for the final. We played a difficult match against a strong and tough crowd, and we tried to make some changes to the lineup to enter the match in the best possible way."
He added, "We are greatly disappointed by losing on penalties, but I am proud of the fighting spirit shown by the players. I spoke with them and told them that we faced the best team in the tournament, which includes players with great capabilities, and I am happy with what you delivered."
He justified his defensive approach during the match by saying, "We had to play defensively, yet we still had some scoring opportunities. We could have adopted an attacking style, but our team was fatigued, and the opponent also played defensively, making it difficult to score against them. Neither side managed to score, and the weather also affected the match."
He continued, "I tried to select players capable of fighting until the end, and we reached the penalty shootout, where we lost."
Regarding the choice of penalty takers, among whom Qatar missed three, he clarified: "I chose the best players to take the penalties, and I discussed with them before the match the possibility of reaching this stage."
He completed: "The penalty shootout was difficult. Despite practicing them in the last training session and the players' proficiency in them, under the pressure of the match, we were unsuccessful in executing them."
The Saudi national team defeated Qatar 3-2 on penalties after the regular and extra time ended in a goalless draw.
This sets up a final clash with the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Akhdar (the Green Team) qualified for the final match for the first time since 2019, when they faced Bahrain and lost by one goal to nil.
The Saudi national team has won the Gulf Cup title three times, most recently in 2003.
