Ahmed Eltigani
In a high octane semi-final, with a packed Al Janoub Stadium and fans across Qatar and the Gulf watching. Saudi Arabia upset hosts Qatar in a triumphant win. Qatar fought hard throughout the fixture, keeping possession longer than their Saudi counterparts and having many chances at goals, however, the team simply could not find the back of the net.
In the 28th minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored a surprise goal for Saudi Arabia, shifting the balance of the game in their favor. The goal came as a defensive error, as a cross came from the right-wing deflecting off of a defender, with Qatar’s keeper not able to deter the threat under pressure. Saudi Arabia comfortably left the pitch at half-time up by one goal.
As the second half whistle blew, Qatar seemed to have regained themselves, applying more pressure on Saudi Arabia’s defense. However, the Saudi side maintained it's back line's posture and dealt with most of Qatar’s chances with solid defense. Qatar’s Akram Afif was struck with the first yellow card of the game at the 50th-minute mark. Shortly after, KSA’a Mohammed Al-Khabrani received the second yellow card of the game, after an aggressive off-ball push on Afif.
Qatar took shot after shot looking to find the back of the net going into the final 15 minutes of the game, but fell short with most of the shots being deflected or not hitting the target, making the pressure on the players quite evident. As time winded down in stoppage time, Qatar seemed to be firing at all cylinders with hopes of equalizing and obtaining extra time, but KSA would not let down their guard.
As the final whistle blew, the Saudi Arabian side rejoiced at their victory, defeating Al Annabi 1-0. The stage is set for the finals, where Saudi Arabia will face Bahrain, after Bahrain’s penalty shootout victory over Iraq. The finals of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup will take place on Sunday the 8th of December at Khalifa International Stadium.