Saudi Arabia coach Helio Dos Anjos refuted claims of a possible agreement between his side and Bahrain ahead of their final Asian Cup Group D meeting on Wednesday.
The 49-year-old Brazilian labelled any claims as "unreasonable" despite the fact that a draw could ensure both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain advance to the knockout stage, depending on the result between co-hosts Indonesia and South Korea in Jakarta.
"Such an idea is unreasonable," he said. "We respect all the fans who are supporting us and all the people also who will be watching the game.
"Playing for a draw is not an option for us and we will go into the game aiming for a win which will secure us the top spot in the group."
Anjos will be forced to make at least one change to his side with midfielder Khaled Aziz ruled out through suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the tournament.
"After the Indonesia match I said that we will be missing Khaled Aziz," added Anjos. "I also said that Taisir Al Jassim will replace him and will be playing alongside (Saud) Khariri.
"They played together in the friendly matches that we had in Singapore and they had a good performance.
"The most important thing is to qualify to the next stage and whoever we will meet, we will play with our hearts and give our best," said Anjos about a possible clash in the quarter-finals with Iran should they finish second in the group.
Bahrain's Czech coach Milan Macala echoed Anjos' words, insisting a draw means they will have to look to the result in Jakarta.
Macala pointed to Monday's meeting between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which the Asian Games gold medal-winners had to win to secure a place in the last eight.
Dzemaludin Musovic's side crashed to a 2-1 defeat to hand co-hosts Vietnam, who lost 4-1 to Japan, a place in the last eight alongside the defending champions.
"We are going to play for the three points," insisted Macala. "We cannot play for a draw and wait for the other result because we all saw what happened in yesterday's match between Qatar and UAE.
"I would like to congratulate my friend [Vietnam coach Alfred] Riedl but the fact that he and Vietnam were waiting for the second game means that we should not do the same.
"Our qualification is in our hands. If we defeat Saudi Arabia then we will qualify directly while if we lose, we will go out. A draw means that we have to wait for the other match.
"Saudi Arabia are building their team for the future and they have good players. However, they have strong and weak points and we will try to take advantage of their weak points in order to win and qualify."
"Such an idea is unreasonable," he said. "We respect all the fans who are supporting us and all the people also who will be watching the game.
"Playing for a draw is not an option for us and we will go into the game aiming for a win which will secure us the top spot in the group."
Anjos will be forced to make at least one change to his side with midfielder Khaled Aziz ruled out through suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the tournament.
"After the Indonesia match I said that we will be missing Khaled Aziz," added Anjos. "I also said that Taisir Al Jassim will replace him and will be playing alongside (Saud) Khariri.
"They played together in the friendly matches that we had in Singapore and they had a good performance.
"The most important thing is to qualify to the next stage and whoever we will meet, we will play with our hearts and give our best," said Anjos about a possible clash in the quarter-finals with Iran should they finish second in the group.
Bahrain's Czech coach Milan Macala echoed Anjos' words, insisting a draw means they will have to look to the result in Jakarta.
Macala pointed to Monday's meeting between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which the Asian Games gold medal-winners had to win to secure a place in the last eight.
Dzemaludin Musovic's side crashed to a 2-1 defeat to hand co-hosts Vietnam, who lost 4-1 to Japan, a place in the last eight alongside the defending champions.
"We are going to play for the three points," insisted Macala. "We cannot play for a draw and wait for the other result because we all saw what happened in yesterday's match between Qatar and UAE.
"I would like to congratulate my friend [Vietnam coach Alfred] Riedl but the fact that he and Vietnam were waiting for the second game means that we should not do the same.
"Our qualification is in our hands. If we defeat Saudi Arabia then we will qualify directly while if we lose, we will go out. A draw means that we have to wait for the other match.
"Saudi Arabia are building their team for the future and they have good players. However, they have strong and weak points and we will try to take advantage of their weak points in order to win and qualify."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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