By Draw.. Omani to Gulf Cup 27 Semifinals

With the end of the second match, Oman players celebrated qualifying for the semifinals, before their joy was postponed to conduct a draw to determine the qualifier between them and the Iraqi team.

The two teams were tied after their matches in the direct confrontation result (1-1) and goal difference as well as in fair play, prompting the organizing committee to conduct a draw after about two hours to determine the qualifier.

Khaled Al-Muqrin, Chairman of the Competitions Committee of the Gulf Union, told the media after the draw, 'The organizing committee met and examined the results and explained to the representatives of the Iraqi and Omani teams the mechanism of the draw.'

- Third win for Saudi Arabia -

Saudi Arabia raised its tally to 9 points at the top thanks to its third consecutive win with goals from Abdullah Al-Salem (54) and Abdullah Al-Hamdan (68).

The Greek coach of Saudi Arabia, Yorgos Donis, said after the match in the press conference, 'The team faced some problems in dealing with set pieces at the beginning of the tournament, but it improved in this aspect during the second half against Iraq and also benefited from them better in the last two matches.'

He added, 'Focus represents one of the most important demands of the technical staff since the beginning of the tournament, whether in implementing tactical instructions or adhering to the rules inside and outside the field.'

He continued, 'The work does not stop at one match but aims to build a regular team that enjoys the confidence of the fans continuously.'

Although the first half did not live up to expectations, the Saudi Green, who made extensive changes to their lineup, was the better side for most of the periods.

Saudi attacks initially lacked danger, until Al-Salem headed a cross ball that he played with his head next to the post (18), followed by Mohamed Abu Al-Shamat with a strong shot that narrowly missed the crossbar (24).

Iraqi coach Graham Arnold made a forced change by bringing in Ibrahim Bayesh instead of defender Mustafa Saadoun one minute before the end of the first half.

Abdullah Al-Salem opened the scoring by taking advantage of a set piece played inside the penalty area and a joint defensive error between the defense and goalkeeper Ahmed Basel to send the ball into the net (54).

Donis, the Saudi coach, brought in Saleh Al-Shehri and Feras Al-Burikan instead of Al-Salem and Sultan Mandsh, in exchange for three Iraqi changes with Ayman Hussein, Ahmed Yahya, and Zaidan Iqbal coming in for Hasan Abdul-Karim, Karrar Nabil, and Ahmed Qasim.

From a quick attack, Al-Hamdan added the second goal for Saudi Arabia with a rebounded ball and a smart pass, shooting a strong ground shot into the net (68).

Iraq had a chance to reduce the deficit, but Abdul-Ilah Al-Omari managed to clear the ball for a corner (79), before Ali Jassim shot a strong ball that passed by the post (81).

- Oman turns the tables -

Oman overturned their deficit against Kuwait and won 3-1.

Oman fell behind with a goal from Shabib Al-Khalidi with a header after following up a ball executed from a corner (6).

However, Nasser Al-Ruwaihi equalized the score with a counterattack by following up a ball from a close distance into the Kuwaiti goal (65).

Al-Ruwaihi added the second for Oman with a strong sliding shot (81), before Mu'aab Al-Shiqsi secured the victory with the third with a header following up a ball that reached him from a corner (84).

Omani Abdul-Salam Al-Shikili told the press after the match, 'Our goal was to achieve victory away from calculations and numbers.'