Saudi Arabia and Kuwait meet Saturday in the final of the FUCHS International Quartet Football Championship, at the Amman International Stadium. The championship, organized by the Jordan Football Association, kicked off Wednesday with the participation of Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia and is meant to prepare the national teams of the four brotherly nations for the Asian qualifiers for World Cup 2104, to be held in Brazil. The tournament is of great technical importance to the coaches of the four teams as it includes four of the best teams in the Asian continent. Saudi Arabia has managed to reach the World Cup Finals four times while Kuwait has won the recent Gulf Cup 20. In its preparation for the final, the Saudi team held a training session at the Al-Isra University Stadium where coach Ruggiero Morris Lorenzo focused the team's technical faults. The team players, according to officials, are all ready for the encounter and players' harmony is increasing. The tournament is a good chance for the recently appointed coach Frank Rijkaard to get a full idea about the Saudi players and the Arab teams as well. This will definitely be of assistance to the new coach in the green team's Asian battles toward Brazil. Rijkaard will take the mission after Saudi Arabia plays against Hong Kong in Dammam's Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium for the first leg of their World Cup qualifier, with the return match scheduled to take place five days later. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti team superavisor Ali Mahmoud told KUNA that the Kuwaiti football team had cancelled its Asian and European camps in order to be present at this sporting event which includes strong teams. The Kuwaiti team is “fine,” he described, noting that “what's important is to connect with other teams and exchange personal expertise so that the Kuwaiti football team can gain its golden age back,” he said. The Saudi team reached the final following an exciting encounter against Jordan. In that match, the green team defeated Jordan 5-4 in penalty shootout after the regulation time ended 1-1. Goalkeeper, Hasan Al-Otaibi played a major role in the Greens' qualification as he succeeded to block two spot kicks. On the other hand, Kuwait blanked Iraq 2-0 in a match that brought to mind the heated football encounters between the two countries. __
