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Yemen and football in the face of civil war: ‘It would be very nice to give the world a different headline’

The Guardian Sport Thursday 01 October 2026, 13:23 UTC By John Duerden 1 min read
Key Points

Noureddine Ould Ali is staying positive despite a difficult situation at home and tough opponents at the Gulf CupThe Yemen national team coach, Noureddine Ould Ali, chose not to reach for a good old-fashioned football excuse for his team’s 1-0 loss to Qatar in the Gulf Cup on Saturday, despite a clear penalty that was not given his way. The defeat meant the Reds crashed out of the eight-nation regional tournament, currently taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a game of the group stage...

Noureddine Ould Ali is staying positive despite a difficult situation at home and tough opponents at the Gulf Cup

The Yemen national team coach, Noureddine Ould Ali, chose not to reach for a good old-fashioned football excuse for his team’s 1-0 loss to Qatar in the Gulf Cup on Saturday, despite a clear penalty that was not given his way. The defeat meant the Reds crashed out of the eight-nation regional tournament, currently taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a game of the group stage still remaining.

There are other factors that the Algerian coach could list for a defeat against a team that was at the World Cup in the summer. Qatar also have the Aspire Academy, state of the art stadia and a former Spain and Real Madrid coach – Julen Lopetegui – in charge. Yemen have none of those things and have not played a home game since 2012, a 2-1 win over Palestine in Sanaa.

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Yemen (LOCATION) Noureddine Ould Ali (PERSON) the Gulf CupThe Yemen (LOCATION) Qatar (LOCATION) the Gulf Cup (LOCATION) Reds (ORG) Jeddah (LOCATION) Saudi Arabia (LOCATION) Algerian (ORG) the World Cup (EVENT) the Aspire Academy (ORG) Spain (LOCATION) Real Madrid (ORG) Julen Lopetegui (PERSON) Palestine (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian Sport Read original →

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