Saudi Arabia suffer heavy defeat to Egypt in U-17 Gulf Cup opener

Saudi Arabia’s under-16 football team suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Egypt on Saturday evening at Hamad Al-Kabeer Stadium in Doha, in the opening round of the group stage at the U-17 Gulf Cup, leaving the Saudis without points at the start of their campaign.

Egypt dominated the second half, with Mohamed Gamal opening the scoring in the 54th minute from the penalty spot. Ziad Saudi doubled the lead in the 80th minute with a shot from inside the box.

Egypt continued to find the net in the closing minutes, as Ahmed Safouf scored the third goal in the 85th minute with a strike from the edge of the area. Khaled Mahmoud added a fourth in the 90+6th minute, before Ahmed Bashir completed the rout in the 90+8th minute.

With this result, Egypt claimed their first three points in Group B, which also includes Kuwait, Yemen, and Iraq alongside Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia began their campaign with a loss.