Dženis responds to criticism before the Gulf 27 final: did you not see what happened in five matches!

Greek coach Georgios Donis, the manager of the Saudi national team, has complained about the fatigue gripping his players ahead of the final of the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup, "Gulf 27", against the UAE.

Saudi Arabia beat Qatar on penalties after a goalless draw across normal and extra time at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday, booking their place in the semi-final.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, as reported by the Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadiah" , Donis said: "I congratulate the players on their high performance and ferocity. They gave the best they have in a difficult match against an opponent who has experience and plays in a distinguished defensive manner."

He added: "The tournament is considered short and fatigue is a factor, and we deserve the win after a distinguished performance,

we faced problems with the players' fatigue during the match, but I am happy with what happened. The players will deliver a distinguished final, and that is what we expect from them."

Saudi Arabia face the UAE next Tuesday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah in the final.

On that match, the Greek coach said: "We must take each match on its own, and try to recover well, and present the best strategies in the matches."

He explained: "We had a special strategy in today's match, and we had to play in a different way at the beginning, and in the second half we made some changes."

Pressing the point, he elaborated: "We had to play in a different way, and try to create goals, and I think we did not take the appropriate decisions in the match. Playing in a defensive way made the situation difficult for us."

He continued: "We must focus on the final step and focus on ourselves, and we need the support of the crowd. After the end of the match I asked the players to thank and congratulate the fans, who had an impact on us in the match, and I also told them that we are capable of winning."

Turning to the officiating, he went on: "I do not want to talk about the referee's decisions. The referee did not see the thing that I saw, and I do not want to talk about this matter. We respect his decisions and everything he does."

He concluded: "We played 5 matches without conceding goals, which is distinguished (Saudi Arabia played only 4 matches in the tournament), and this is down to the performance, skill and abilities of the players, but we made a mistake by allowing the opponent to create chances, and step by step we will build our own identity."