Salem Al-Dosari, the Saudi captain, commented on the ongoing crisis due to statements by Roberto Manchini, the Green coach, on why a number of Green stars were excluded.
Manchini sparked controversy at a press conference on Monday after revealing that Salman al-Faraj, Sultan al-Ghanam and Nawaf al-Aqaidi refused to play for Saudi Arabia, denying the trio of statements.
Saudi Arabia secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Oman on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium in Group F of the 2023 Asian Nations Cup.
“We thank God for winning, a good derby, we thank the fans, and we still have 6 games to make for the dream we came to.”
سالم الدوسري – لاعب منتخبنا الوطني:
أمامنا 6 مباريات من أجل الحلم الذي أتينا من أجل تحقيقه، ,وطموحنا دائماً عالي#السعودية_عمان#كأس_آسيا2023 | #SSC pic.twitter.com/p9NrU51OuW— SSC (@ssc_sports) January 16, 2024
He added: “We’ve got all the mistakes we got in the first half, we’ve got players with experience, always coming back on top teams.”
Regarding Manchini’s crisis and players,
Al-Dosari said: “There is no difference between who comes to the team and who is absent, all one, as players and fans, playing for the team is a pride for anyone, and everyone is at the heart of one man here.”
منتخبنا الوطني يستهل مشواره الآسيوي بالفوز على عمان بنتيجة 2-1
📺 شاهد الأهداف بصوت المعلق مشاري القرني..⤵️#السعودية_عمان#كأس_آسيا2023 | #SSC pic.twitter.com/RTeZLbeQiJ
— SSC (@ssc_sports) January 16, 2024
He continued: “Inside the changing rooms we always had a positive talk until the last moment, we had a camp that included hard training morning and evening, we pressed ourselves, we left our relatives, we came here for one dream.”
