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DUBAI: Saudi national team forward Firas Al-Buraikan has expressed his pride at winning the 2026 Arabian Gulf Cup and said that the Green Falcons have plans to achieve greater success.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia defeated the UAE 2-0 on Tuesday night at Jeddah\u2019s Al-Inma Stadium to claim a first title in the cup since 2004.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepresenting your country\u2019s national team is an honor and a source of pride, and we in the future will be better,\u201d Al-Buraikan told Asharq Al-Awsat.<\/p>\n
The tournament\u2019s joint top scorer with three goals spoke of the challenges the team faced and said the players are now looking forward to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which will also be held in the Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire tournament was difficult, but we made it easier. Everyone aspired to achieve it, and we succeeded in doing that, and we still have another tournament ahead of us that we are striving for, God willing.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about his most cherished goal in the tournament, Al-Buraikan initially chose his goal against Oman, before changing his answer with a smile and saying: \u201cI tell you \u2026 the tournament is the most beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Saudi defender Nawaf Boushal revealed that winning the Gulf Cup holds a different value for him than other titles he has achieved during his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you bring joy to your country, it\u2019s a different story. Thank God, the Saudi people deserve this great joy, and God willing, this will be the beginning of good things to come, and the future will be even better,\u201d he told Asharq Al-Awsat.<\/p>\n
The title ended a long wait for a generation of Saudi fans to claim a regional or continental title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe previous generations of players did not fall short, but success was not written for them,\u201d Boushal said. \u201cGod has written success for us, and we have contributed to making an entire nation happy, and God willing, this will be the beginning of good things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boushal added that the desire to win the title was clear among the players since the start of their training camp ahead of the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the first day we came to the camp, our focus and goal were clear; to reach the final and win the cup. We did not come just to participate, especially since the tournament is being held on our home ground and among our fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe focus was high, and we set winning the championship as our goal from the beginning, especially since we had been away from winning championships and from making our fans happy for a long time, and thank God that God has honored us today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defender also had special praise for Greek head coach Georgios Donis and his staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonis is a great coach, and he brought great joy to the people. He has experience in Saudi Arabia, knows the players and knows us well. He gave us confidence, as did the technical and medical staff, and all the officials in the national team. No one fell short with us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make the people of an entire country happy, that is the most beautiful moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n