Anxiety and a crossroads: what awaits Saudi Arabia at the 27th Gulf Cup?

Fan anxiety will be there from the opening whistle. Saudi supporters have no appetite for a repeat of the shocking displays that, in recent times, left the national team looking nothing like the side they once knew.

Wins alone won't cut it. Supporters want a national team with a clear identity, one that knows what to do with and without the ball, one that imposes its style rather than sitting back and waiting for the opponent to make the first move.

The Gulf tournament hands Donis and his players a real chance to rebuild confidence. Strong performances from the early rounds could transform the mood around the team and give the fans fresh reason for optimism.

Carry on with the same lacklustre football, though, and even a few decent results won't shift the doubts. The fans will treat whatever the national team produces as a preview of what awaits a few months later at the Asian Cup.

For Dønnis, the tournament looks like far more than another box to tick in the preparation programme. He has faced relentless criticism since the last World Cup, and now he needs to win the fans back and prove he has something to offer the national team.

The coach knows the clock is against him. There simply isn't enough time before the Asian Cup to squander more matches without settling on a clear line-up, a style of play and an identity for Saudi Arabia.

Read also: Analysis of the Saudi squad: Inzaghi's weapon imposes itself and Dønnis bets on the flanks

That is why Gulf Cup 27 could prove one of the most important stages of his project. It hands him a chance to test his ideas under the pressure of real competition, not the softer setting of friendlies or training camps.

The more convincing his side looks, the more faith there will be in the project going forward. Repeat the mistakes and the poor displays, though, and the debate over the coaching staff's future will reopen, especially if the results leave the fans cold.

Win the Gulf Cup, and Saudi Arabia would gain far more than another trophy for the cabinet. The title could deliver a crucial morale boost ahead of the Asian Cup, restoring some of the desire and confidence that players and fans alike badly need.

This is a tournament close to the fans and steeped in history for the Gulf nations. Victory here could give the players a fresh sense of their ability to compete and hold up under pressure, especially if the title arrives on the back of a run of convincing performances.

Success at Gulf Cup 27 could also mend the relationship between the national team and its supporters. Recent results and displays have fuelled wider criticism, and the team now needs a moment that brings the fan back to the stands feeling there is something worth backing.

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The title alone, though, will not decide the value of the tournament. Even reaching the latter stages with convincing football could prove an important marker, because the ultimate goal is to build a side capable of competing at the Asian Cup, not simply lifting the Gulf Cup.

Fall short of expectations, however, and the Saudi Federation and technical staff could face awkward questions, especially if the national team looks no further forward than before, or the problems that plagued it in previous competitions linger on.

Donis's departure is no foregone conclusion here, but it remains a possibility that could force itself onto the agenda if bad results pile up and the criticism keeps coming. The national team went through a technical change before the last World Cup, after all, when Hervé Renard left ahead of the tournament.

That experience means a change before the Asian Cup is not entirely out of the question should things hit a dead end. Yet pulling the trigger so close to the tournament would carry its own risks, because any new coach would need time to get to know the players and put his ideas across.

Gulf Cup 27, then, looms as a genuine crossroads for both the national team and Donis. Success could hand Saudi Arabia a measure of calm and confidence heading into the Asian Cup. Failure, and another shocking showing, would drag every file back onto the table, chief among them the coach's future and the shape of the national team in the phase to come.