Securing their places with contrasting victories in the Qatari capital, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates booked their spots in the under-17 Gulf Cup final.
The United Arab Emirates advanced after a narrow 1–0 victory over Yemen at Hamad Al-Kabir Stadium, where Saif Dacosta scored the sole goal in the 76th minute. Meanwhile, Egypt secured a dominant 4–0 win against China at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, with Daniel Tamer netting twice alongside goals from Khaled Moussa and Mohamed Attia. The title match is scheduled for Wednesday at Hamad Al-Kabir Stadium.
Path to the Final and Tournament Context
Both finalists reached the penultimate stage by topping their respective groups with a perfect record of four consecutive wins. The United Arab Emirates claimed the Group A summit by defeating China, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar. Egypt topped Group B by overcoming Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and Iraq. During their group stage matches, Egypt scored 18 goals and conceded only a single goal, which came against Yemen. Against Iraq specifically, Abdel-Aziz El-Sayed opened the scoring in the 16th minute to give Egypt a 1–0 halftime lead, before Abdel-Aziz added a second goal in the 48th minute and Ziyad Saudi scored the third in the 53rd minute. Khaled Moussa then netted the fourth in the 82nd minute and added his second of the match and Egypt’s fifth in the 88th minute. Earlier in the group fixtures, Egypt had also defeated Saudi Arabia 5–0 at Hamad Al-Kabir Stadium.
Doha is hosting the tournament for the second year, featuring ten participating national teams. The current edition includes Egypt and China as guest participants, alongside regional sides Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Yemen.
World Cup Preparation
Coached by Hussein Abdel Latif, the Egyptian side participates in the competition via a special invitation as part of their preparations for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup. The global tournament is scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 19 to December 13. Overall, the current Gulf Cup features four squads that qualified for the under-17 World Cup: Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China, the latter entering as the runner-up of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
