Croatian coach of the UAE national team, Zlatko Dalić, expressed his dissatisfaction with his players' performance against Oman, despite their success in reaching the final of the Gulf Cup "Khaleeji 27".
The UAE national team won 1-0 against Oman in the semi-final, setting up a date with their Saudi counterpart in the final.
Zlatko said in remarks reported by the Saudi sports newspaper: "I congratulated the players, but I reprimanded them for the performance, especially after they scored the goal."
He added, "I was not happy with this level, but what matters to us is that we achieved the big goal of reaching the final match."
He continued, "Facing the Saudi national team in the final will be difficult, as they are playing in front of their large fan base."
He went on, "The Saudi national team players are tired because they played two extra halves, and we are also under pressure."
The Croatian emphasized, "I will focus on thoroughly analyzing Al-Akhdar (the Green Team) from all aspects."
Ousmane Camara scored the only goal of the match for the UAE national team in the 22nd minute, leading his team to the final.
Nicolas Gimenez missed a penalty for the UAE national team in the 56th minute, after Ibrahim Al-Makhaini, the Oman national team goalkeeper, saved it.
