The second round of the first group competitions in the Gulf Cup football championship “Gulf 25” held in Iraq witnessed two exciting matches, following Oman’s victory over Yemen with three goals to two, and Iraq’s victory over Saudi Arabia with two goals to none.
Iraq leads the group on goal difference from the Oman team, with 4 points each, while the Saudi team ranks third with three points, and finally the Yemeni team comes without points in fourth place.
The match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia was held in the midst of heavy rain, which turned the stadium into puddles of water in front of an audience estimated at regarding 65,000 spectators.
The Iraqi team imposed its control from the start of the match and opened the scoring through its player, Ibrahim Baish, in the 30th minute.
The Saudi team’s attempts to adjust the score failed, despite the team’s activity in the last 20 minutes.
Iraq decided as a result of its victory with a second goal four minutes before the end of the match, with a header by Aso Rustam.
3 penalties
Within the framework of the same group competitions, Oman defeated Yemen, 3-2, in an enthusiastic match that saw two penalty kicks being missed.
The Omani team advanced early in the second minute of the match, with a goal scored by Yemen goalkeeper Ali Fadl in his own net by mistake.
However, the Yemeni team equalized in the 12th minute from a penalty kick, which Al-Matari successfully fired. The Yemeni team translated its control of the match with a second goal in the 30th minute, with Omar Al-Dahi’s foot.
The Omani national team equalized in the 38th minute through its player Arshad Al Alawi.
The match witnessed a second penalty kick for the Yemeni national team, but Al-Alawi lost his balance while shooting, and it was far from the goal.
In the second half, the Omani team advanced with a third goal through its player Essam Al-Subhi in the 47th minute.
The Yemeni team missed several chances to equalize until the last minutes of the match, as the match referee awarded a second penalty kick to Yemen, but player Mohammed Al-Dahi missed the kick.
Iraq is scheduled to meet Yemen in the third round of the group stage and needs only a draw to qualify for the semi-finals, while Saudi Arabia and Oman meet in a decisive match.
