Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Cup triumph is ‘the start of better things’, says Nawaf Boushal

Saudi Arabia defender Nawaf Boushal says winning the Gulf Cup 27 has a special significance because it allowed the team to bring happiness to an entire nation.

Saudi Arabia ended a 23-year wait for the trophy with a 2-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates in the final, securing the title for the fourth time.

“When you make your country happy, it is different,” Boushal told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Praise be to God, the Saudi people deserve this great moment, and hopefully this will be the beginning of good things, with even better things to come.”

Boushal said the success belonged to the current squad, while also paying tribute to the players who had represented Saudi Arabia in previous generations.

“The previous generations of players did not fall short, but success was not written for them,” he said. “Praise be to God that success was written for us, and that we contributed to making an entire nation happy. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of good things.”

The defender said Saudi Arabia had set its sights on winning the tournament from the beginning of its preparations and had not regarded the competition as an opportunity simply to take part.

“From the first day we arrived at the training camp, our focus and objective were clear: to reach the final and win the trophy,” Boushal said. “We did not come merely to participate, especially as the tournament was being held on our home soil and in front of our supporters.”

He added that the players had been particularly determined to reward their fans after a lengthy period without a major title.

“Our concentration was high, and we made winning the championship our target from the outset,” he said. “We had been away from trophies and from giving joy to our supporters for a long time, so praise be to God that he honoured us.”

Boushal also praised Saudi Arabia manager Georgios Donis, saying the Greek coach’s experience in the country had helped him understand the squad.

“Donis is a great coach and brought great happiness to the people,” he said. “He has experience in Saudi Arabia and knows the players and understands us well. He gave us confidence, as did the coaching and medical staff and everyone responsible for the national team. No-one fell short in their duties.”

“To make an entire nation happy – that is the best moment,” Boushal added.

The victory brought Saudi Arabia level with Iraq in second place among the Gulf Cup’s most successful teams, with four titles. Kuwait remain the record holders with 10.

Saudi Arabia had previously won the competition in 1994, 2002 and 2003-04. It was also the country’s first title in any competition since the 2003-04 Gulf Cup.

Since then, Saudi Arabia had lost the 2007 Asian Cup final to Iraq and four Gulf Cup finals, while they finished third in the 2025 Arab tournament.

Donis became the fourth coach to lead Saudi Arabia to the Gulf Cup title, following national team managers Mohammed Al-Kharashy in 1994 and Nasser Al-Johar in 2002, and Dutchman Gerard van der Lem in 2003-04.