Saudi Arabia beats Kuwait 1-0 in the opening of Gulf 27, and National Day celebrations unite foreign clubs and players in Saudi uniforms.

The Saudi national team launched its campaign in the 27th Gulf Cup Championship, in the best possible way, after its difficult victory over its Kuwaiti counterpart 1-0 in the historic derby that took place at Al-Enmaa Stadium in Jeddah in the first group competitions.

The home team, Al-Akhdar, controlled the proceedings of the first half, but its players lacked accuracy, before Mohamed Abu Al-Shamat scored a goal that was not counted due to a violation on his teammate Mohamed Kanno at the beginning of the attack.

The matter was no different after the end of the break, as coach Georgios Donis’ team continued to impose its rhythm amid Kuwait’s closing of spaces in front of Al-Akhdar’s attackers. Maher Al-Hammami, the Saudi winger, was able to penetrate from the left side and fired a cross pass, which defender Al-Haqqan tried to clear, but accidentally diverted it into the goal.

With that result, the Saudi team, which aspires to win its fourth Gulf Cup title, sits at the top of the group standings with 3 points, two points ahead of its closest rivals, the Oman and Iraq teams, who tied 1-1, earlier today in the same round.

On the other hand, the Kuwaiti national team, the historic champion of the Gulf Cup with 10 titles, remained in last place without any points. The Iraqi national team will meet its Kuwaiti counterpart, next Saturday, in the second round of the group, which will witness another confrontation between the Omani and Saudi national teams on the same day. It is noteworthy that the group winner and runner-up will qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament, which will conclude on October 6.

The colors of the clubs faded on Saudi National Day, and were united in the color of the homeland during Saudi football celebrations on National Day, as a number of Saudi league stars, especially foreign players, left their stadium uniforms aside and appeared in dresses, bishts, and brocaded headbands, while others carried swords and joined their Saudi colleagues in the parade steps, in a scene that combined football with the national heritage.

In turn, the club headquarters were transformed into festive arenas, amid a variety of events, from the parade, traditional costumes, and Saudi coffee, to public meetings and programs, while other clubs chose to commemorate the occasion through messages that linked sports to the process of transformation and development that the Kingdom is experiencing.

The most eye-catching image belonged to the foreign players. The stars that the public was accustomed to seeing in their club shirts and in the atmosphere of competition, appeared in a completely different way, wearing Saudi uniforms, wearing a bisht, and holding swords, before some of them tried to keep up with the rhythm and movements of the dance alongside their Saudi colleagues.

These scenes carried a dimension beyond the memorial photo. In a league that brings together players from dozens of nationalities, the occasion has turned into an opportunity through which people from different cultures learn about the details of the Saudi heritage and participate in it instead of just watching it.

The occasion was not limited to the Saudi League clubs, as the celebrations and messages extended to the various levels of football in the country.

Al-Faisaly called on the people of Hurmah to attend National Day activities in “historic Hurmah,” while cooperation brought to mind the process of unifying the Kingdom and the progress and prosperity it is witnessing, stressing in his message the importance of continuing work and serving the nation.

In Al-Sharqiya, I attended the occasion in the Al-Ittifaq and Al-Khaleej messages; Al-Ettifaq Chairman Samer bin Hassan Al-Mashal extended congratulations on this occasion, while Al-Khaleej, in the messages of its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ahmed bin Ali Al-Khuraida, and its CEO, Ali bin Hassan Al-Hassan, focused on the transformations taking place in the sports sector, and what Saudi Vision 2030 has provided in terms of developing the sports system and enhancing the role of clubs in serving sports and society and investing in talents and competencies.

Al-Shabab, Al-Fayhaa and Abha clubs went in the same direction, evoking in their messages the meanings of unity, construction and pride in the history of the Kingdom, while Al-Fayhaa linked the support received by the sports sector to strengthening the presence of Saudi sports on the international scene, and Abha focused on the development process witnessed by the Kingdom.

The picture extended to the sports and investment sector as well, as the message of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Tamweel Al-Oula” Mansour bin Ibrahim Al-Afaleq contained a talk about the position that the Kingdom has reached in hosting major sporting events and tournaments, and the accompanying empowerment of national competencies and the strengthening of the Saudi presence in international forums.

Between the official statements and public events, the most different picture remained coming from within the clubs themselves... a foreign player learning how to wear an aqal, another putting the bisht on his shoulders, a third raising a sword, and a group trying to adjust its steps to the rhythm of the Saudi ritual.

In a season in which clubs compete for points and victories, National Day stopped the ball race for a while and unified the scene with its colors and details.

The bisht instead of the match shirt, the sword instead of the ball, and the parade instead of the goal celebration... On National Day, Saudi football spoke one language, even if the colors of its clubs and the nationalities of its stars differed.

In a league that brings together players from dozens of nationalities, it is an opportunity to learn about the details of the Saudi heritage

Moroccan Tariq Al-Saktiwi, coach of the Oman national team, confirmed that the 1-1 draw against Iraq at the opening of the two teams’ campaign in “Gulf 27” came under different preparation conditions.

Al-Saktiwi told Asharq Al-Awsat: “In the first half, we were not good at possession, and we did not deal with rebounds as required, but the reaction in the second half was positive and the players followed the instructions.”

He added: There are differences in circumstances and they are not tactical. We only had three camps, the last of which was for 9 days with local players, while Iraq has greater technical stability and played more matches with the same group.

Al-Saktiwi pointed out that the return of a number of Omani players from injuries affected their physical readiness, which, according to his description, appeared during the last ten minutes of the match.

Al-Saktiwi believes that the draw in the opening of Oman’s campaign in “Gulf 27” cannot be read from the tactical aspect only, but is also related to the extent of the group’s readiness and the stability that preceded the tournament, while stressing that the improvement that appeared in the second half represents a positive aspect that can be built upon in the upcoming matches.