Amir Al-Amari: The weather is not an excuse and we play as one family, this is our goal against Kuwait

Iraqi national team player Amir Al-Amari has expressed a completely different opinion from his teammate striker Ayman Hussein ahead of the upcoming match against Kuwait in the second round of the Gulf Cup 'Gulf 27' taking place in Saudi Arabia.

Iraq will face Kuwait at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium tomorrow, Saturday, at 6:55 PM local time.

Ameer Al-Amari, 29, is set to make his 54th appearance for the Iraq national team against Kuwait, having previously represented Iraq in World Cup qualifiers, the Asian Cup, and the Gulf Cup, scoring 3 international goals.

Al-Amari missed the Iraq national team's match against Oman in the first round, as coach Graham Arnold preferred not to include him due to his late arrival and lack of full physical readiness.

Al-Amari said at the press conference: "We have a very important match tomorrow, Saturday. We have watched Kuwait closely, and they are a very developed team, but we have a lot of confidence in ourselves and know well what is required of us on the pitch. We aim to deliver the best possible performance."

He added: "We have great confidence in our abilities as a team, and we are determined to make up for it and achieve the desired result against Kuwait. As one of the experienced players in the team, I always make sure to stand by my young teammates and support them to give their best, as we live like brothers and one family within the Iraqi national team, and the atmosphere among us is extremely positive."

Al-Amari completed his remarks with a message contrary to what Ayman Hussein said: "The weather and the rising temperatures and humidity are not an excuse for us as professional players. We played in Saudi Arabia last year in exactly similar conditions, and it is a normal thing. We will not use the weather as an excuse for our performance decline. We are reviewing ourselves and working on correcting the mistakes we made against Oman, and we must make amends with the Iraqi fans by achieving victory."

Amir Al-Amari's comments contrasted sharply with those of his teammate Ayman Hussein after the match between the Lions of Mesopotamia and Oman. The Iraqi national team's forward attributed a significant part of the decline in performance in the second half to the high humidity and rising temperatures, as well as the length of the grass on the pitch.