MANAMA — Bahrain is hoping to put its best foot forward in the opening encounter against Oman in the 21st Gulf Cup Tournament to push start its campaign of registering its first win in the event. Bahrain has not won the Cup since its inception in 1970. Enjoying home advantage, the Bahraini team will be going for maximum points in the Group A match that kick-starts the eight-team tournament. Bahrain, which has adopted an attacking flow of play, will be on the move from the word go and an early goal could enhance their sky-high confidence. But Oman may not be the pushovers that the hosts are hoping for. With three points and also a shot at its second title, Oman would be putting up a formidable fight. The last time Oman won the title was in 2009 at home. Despite the fact that team goalkeeper Ali Al-Hebsi is not playing, the Omanis hope to ride on their other experienced campaigners to carry its offense and steady its defense. The game will take place at around 7:15 p.m. Saudi time. The second match of the group will see Qatar play UAE. Qatar is ambitious and looking forward to secure its third title, while, the UAE, with one crown under its belt, would give nothing away. Qatar Coach Paulo Autuori, who was hired last February, was confident that the team will perform to expectations, despite the 2-0 loss to Egypt in the friendly last month in Doha. He said that Qatar's defense has to be resolute, and will have to ward off the moves of UAE. Gulf fans are looking forward to the competition, which they expect to be fierce. All the eight participating teams have equal opportunity in the tourney and their performance on the given day would eventually decide the course of the event. Six out of the eight teams failed to qualify to the final round of the World Cup. Only Qatar and Oman qualified to the next round but their performance, after the qualifiers, have been on the wane. Bahrain has been picked to host the tournament instead of Iraq that is witnessing political unrest.
