Yasser al-Qahtani looks set to feature in his 4th Gulf Cup Khobar – Hesham al-Dossari Saudi forward Yasser al-Qahtani, who is preparing for the upcoming Gulf Cup of Nations, has told reporters that he is \"fed up\" with the speculation about his status since announcing his retirement from international football in April. Al-Qahtani spoke at a press conference after a Saudi national team training session at the eastern province in preparation for the tournament which kicks off in Bahrain on Saturday. \"The Saudi sports media blew the whole thing out of proportion and kept the football audience busy with stories about whether or not I was coming back,” he said. \"Sadly, I’m really tired of the questions about my return to international football, because I know this question by heart better than I know my own full name.\" He then turned to the journalists and asked, \"why do you focus on these stories and neglect more important things in football?\"
Explaining his situation, al-Qahtani said that he returned to the squad after a phone call from (Saudi national team\'s manager) Frank Rijkaard. \"He asked me to come back and I agreed. I retired initially to make room for young players, but the manger thought differently and I won’t hesitate to defend my national team’s emblem as long as I’m needed.\"
Al-Qahtani makes his comeback at GCN next week, having taken part in four previous tournaments. His Gulf career began with the 16th edition in Kuwait in 2002, which was followed by Qatar, the UAE and Amman. He did not take part in the 2010 Gulf Cup held in Yemen, which the Saudi national team lost.
Rijkaard described al-Qahtani’s return as \"a technical and psychological boost for the team,\" affirming his need for \"a player with the extensive experience that his team-mates don’t possess\" in order to \"achieve the desired objective in the tournament.\"
Regarding the team’s preparations, defender Yasser al-Shahrani’s participation has been thrown into doubt due to a swollen knee that has kept him off the pitch. The medical staff is expected to make a decision about his involvement shortly. Rijkaard is waiting for news on the injured players before announcing his 23-man squad on Thursday.