Saudi Coach: Iraq Deserved To Win
A 71st minute Younis Mahmoud header gave Iraq a historic first continental title.
“Iraq deserved their win today because they saw that our strength is in ball possession and they did a lot to prevent us from holding on to the ball,”said dos Anjos after the game.
“They would challenge for possession the moment we had the ball and because of that, it made it very difficult to play our football.”
According to the Brazilian, there are bright times ahead for the Saudis, who impressed at the competition.
“I have only spent two months working with this team and football in Saudi Arabia is currently in a state of transition,” said dos Anjos. “
Of course, I feel sorry for the people of Saudi Arabia who supported us but I am very proud of the performance of my players during this tournament.
“This is a young team and I am confident for the future as they will have many more games and tournaments to play. We lost this tournament but we will look at our weaknesses and try to correct them in the future so that we can bring greater happiness to the people of Saudi Arabia.”