Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE and Qatar reach Gulf Cup semifinals

The group stage of the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup concluded after 12 matches played over three rounds, with Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Qatar advancing to the semifinals.

In Group A, Saudi Arabia topped the table with a perfect record of 9 points, following victories over Kuwait (1-0), Oman (3-0), and Iraq (2-0), scoring six goals without conceding any.

Oman secured second place and a historic first semifinal appearance after drawing lots with Iraq, as both teams finished with four points and remained tied on all tiebreaker criteria. Iraq placed third, while Kuwait finished fourth without any points.

Group A teams scored a total of 17 goals, including six by Saudi Arabia. Firas Al-Buraikan netted twice, with Hassan Kadesh, Abdullah Al-Salem, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan each scoring once, and an own goal by Kuwait’s Youssef Al-Haqan.

Oman scored four goals, with Nasser Al-Rawahi netting three and Musab Al-Shaqsi adding one. Iraq’s four goals came from Mohammed Qasim, Zidan Iqbal, Saif Rashid, and Karrar Nabil, each scoring once. For Kuwait, Youssef Nasser scored twice and Shabeeb Al-Khalidi once.

In Group B, the UAE led the standings with seven points, edging Qatar on goal difference, as both finished with the same points. Yemen came third with three points, while Bahrain finished fourth without any points.

Group B teams scored 19 goals in total. The UAE netted eight, with Nicolas Gimenez and Ali Saleh scoring twice each, and Luan Pereira, Othman Kamara, and Guilherme Bala each adding one. Yemen’s Nader Sahel also scored an own goal.

Qatar scored four goals, with Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan Al-Haydos, Youssef Abdurisag, and Almoez Ali each scoring once. Yemen scored five, with two from Rami Al-Wasmani, and one each from Nasser Mahmoud, Abdulwasea Al-Matari, and Adel Abbas Qasim. For Bahrain, Ali Al-Dosari and Ali Madan each scored once.

The UAE finished as the tournament’s highest-scoring team in the group stage with eight goals, while Saudi Arabia did not concede any. Nasser Al-Rawahi led the scoring charts with three goals at the end of the group stage.

The tournament continues next Saturday, with Saudi Arabia facing Qatar at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, while the UAE will play Oman at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, also in Jeddah.