Oman eliminated from Gulf Cup on goal difference

Doha: Defending champions Oman have been eliminated from the Arabian Gulf Cup on goal difference after losing to Saudi Arabia, who will join Bahrain in the semi finals after they beat Kuwait 3-2.

Group B ended with both Oman and Bahrain level on four points, and both sides having conceded four goals, Bahrain went through because they had scored four as well, leading to a goal difference of zero, while Oman only scored three, thereby having a goal difference of minus one.

Firas Al Buraikan opened the scoring in the 26th minute for the Saudis, before Hattan Behebri doubled his country’s lead three minutes from time. With the score 2-0 to Saudi Arabia at half time, Oman needed a goal quickly and it came through Al Mandhar Al Alawi in the 55th minute.

However, the Saudis restored their two-goal lead just two minutes later when Behebri scored his second. Oman needed a draw or a win to proceed to the knockout stages but their loss to the Saudis meant the defending champions have been knocked out of the tournament, following Bahrain’s 3-2 win over Kuwait, who will also go home.

In Group B’s other game, Bahrain took the lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Ali Madan opened the scoring, but Kuwait – who are the most successful team in the competition – levelled through Youssef Nasser’s penalty a minute before the hour mark.

Jassim Al Shaikh then put the island nation back in the lead when he scored in the 69th minute, and Thiago Augusto made it 3-1 to Bahrain in the 83rd minute. Ahmed Zanki reduced the lead and made it 3-2, but Bahrain held on to win and book their place in the semis, with Augusto doubling his tally and his side’s lead to make it 4-2 in the 93rd minute.

In Group A, hosts Qatar eliminated the United Arab Emirates after a topsy-turvy game that ended 4-2, after Akram Afif opened the scoring with a sublime strike and then doubled the lead with a 28th minute penalty. Ali Mabkhout, the UAE’s leading scorer of all time, then made it 2-1 with a spot kick of his own, but Qatar captain Hassan Al Haydos made it 3-1 to the 2022 World Cup hosts with his goal in the 53rd minute.

Mabkhout then put the UAE back in contention with his second goal, but Boualem Khoukhi ended the game as a contest with his 94th minute goal to ensure the hosts made it to the semis, alongside Iraq, who had already sealed qualification after wins against Qatar and the UAE.

Their game against Yemen ended goalless after Mustafa Mohammed Jaber was sent off early in the eighth minute, but the result to them was inconsequential, which means Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar are the four teams in the semi-finals. From Group A, both the United Arab Emirates and Yemen will go home.

Defending champs Oman exit Gulf Cup after defeat to Saudi Arabia

Defending champions Oman were eliminated from the Arabian Gulf Cup after Saudi Arabia defeated them 3-1 in Group B, to qualify for the semi finals of the tournament, alongside Bahrain, Iraq and hosts Qatar.