Bahrain lost to Qatar 2-0 in the opening of the 27th Gulf Cup

The Bahraini national team, the “defending champion,” lost its first match in the 27th Gulf Cup tournament in Jeddah, at the hands of its Qatari counterpart, 2-0, in the second group competitions.

The first goal of the match came after an hour of play, after Boualem received a free kick executed by Akram Afif from a distance with a direct header into the net. Qatar, the two-time Asian Cup holder, completed the match with 10 players after Ahmed Fathi was sent off for receiving a second yellow card.

As Bahrain tried to apply pressure late in the match in search of an equalizer, Al-Haydous advanced to go one-on-one with the goal from the middle of the field, before Abbas Al-Asfoor obstructed him, so the referee awarded a penalty kick and sent off the Bahraini defender.

Al-Haydos advanced to calmly put the ball into Bahrain’s net, ensuring the veteran midfielder secured Qatar’s valuable victory. Qatar scored 3 points at the beginning of its tournament, occupying second place behind the UAE, which won 4-0 over Yemen earlier in the day.

Qatar will play against Yemen next Sunday, in order to qualify for the semi-finals, and Bahrain will face the UAE on the same day.

Saqr Al-Darbi, the Yemeni national team player, apologized to his country's fans after losing to the UAE 4-0 at the start of their Gulf Cup campaign, stressing that the national team will work to compensate during the upcoming confrontations.

Speaking to the media after the match, Al-Darbi said: “I will give you credit for our victory, and congratulations to the Emirati team for winning. We let our fans down today and we offer our apologies to them. We fell into a very strong group that includes a number of the most prominent teams nominated to compete in the tournament, including the champion of the previous edition.”

He added: “The Yemeni fans were a great motivation for us, and we thank them for their presence and support, and God willing, we can compensate them in the upcoming matches.”

For his part, Tariq Shehab, the Yemeni national team player, confirmed that his team will try to overcome the loss and focus on the matches between Qatar and Bahrain. He said: “Today’s confrontation was strong and we did not succeed in it. We still have two strong matches against Qatar and Bahrain, and we will try to provide a better level during them.”

Shehab concluded: “We thank the Yemeni fans for their attendance and encouragement, and we hope that we can make them happy in the upcoming matches.”

Abdullah Hamad, the UAE national team player, confirmed that the strong start and high concentration were among the most prominent reasons for the victory over Yemen 4-0 at the beginning of the “White” campaign in the Gulf Cup.

Speaking to the media after the match, Abdullah Hamad said: “We entered from the first minute with high concentration, and we succeeded in scoring early, and this helped us achieve victory and control the course of the match in the way we wanted, and the coming is more beautiful, God willing.”

He added: “We respect all teams, and we are very prepared, and we are fully prepared for the upcoming confrontations in the tournament.”