The young Al-Akhdar battalion, led by the experienced Greek coach Denis, put an end to Saudi football’s long absence from the podium, and captured the Gulf Cup title “Gulf 27”, for the fourth time after the years “1994, 2002 and 2003”, at the expense of the Emirati team 2-0 in the confrontation that brought them together at Al-Enmaa Stadium “The Radiant Jewel” in Jeddah, in the presence of a full crowd.
From the beginning of the match, the young Green Stars, led by Greek coach Denis, presented a fiery display that resulted in two goals from the first quarter of an hour, and they put their opponent in a difficult angle to catch up with the score and keep up with them in performance and football solo play.
The fans of the Saudi team ignited the atmosphere of the “Gulf 27” final early by uploading a wonderful “Tifo” before the start of the match that brings together the Saudi and Emirati teams. The Saudi fans raised a huge “Tifo” showing a Saudi fan wearing a green scarf as he prepared to shoot his arrow towards the goal, in reference to the desire of the team, nicknamed Green, to win the title in its favor and win the championship on its home soil and among its large fans, while the southern stand raised a Tifo bearing the phrase “We only throw... a share.” The brilliant player, Hammam Al-Hammami, succeeded in igniting the atmosphere early by scoring the first goal for Al-Akhdar in the 11th minute, taking advantage of the return of the ball from inside the penalty area following a corner kick. He shot it powerfully and changed its path after colliding with one of the Emirates players, so that goalkeeper Khaled Issa found it very difficult to confront it.
Two minutes later, Firas Al-Braikan documented Al-Akhdar’s terrifying start after scoring the second goal, taking advantage of a cunning pass from his colleague Nasser Al-Dosari that penetrated the White defenses, finding himself facing the goal, and shooting it to the left of goalkeeper Khaled Issa.
The first Saudi national team raised its tally to 9 official titles in the most prominent regional and continental championships, after winning the 2026 Gulf Cup in Jeddah, adding the fourth championship to its Gulf record, and strengthening its decades-long legacy in Asian and Arab football.
The fourth Gulf title came 23 years after the last coronation, returning “Al-Akhdar” to the championship podium, which it found its way for the first time in 1994, before repeating the achievement in 2002 and 2003, then adding the Jeddah 2026 title.
The nine Saudi national team titles are distributed among 3 main tournaments: It won the Asian Cup three times, in 1984, 1988 and 1996, becoming one of the most prominent teams in the continent’s history, while it won the Arab Cup twice, in 1998 and 2002, and completed its tally with four Gulf Cup titles in 1994, 2002, 2003 and 2026.
The championship map reveals the continuity of the Saudi presence on the podiums. The continental beginning came in Singapore in 1984, when “The Greens” won the Asian Cup for the first time, then maintained its title in Qatar in 1988, before regaining the championship again in the Emirates in 1996.
On the Arab level, the beginning came with the coronation in 1998 in the Qatari capital, Doha, then the Saudi team returned to win the Arab Cup again in 2002 in Kuwait.
As for the Gulf, the gold story began in the Emirates in 1994, then came the second title in Riyadh in 2002, and the third in Kuwait in 2003, before the waiting period was long until the fourth title came in Jeddah in 2026.
In addition to its nine titles, the Saudi national team has a remarkable presence on the world stage, having qualified for the World Cup finals 7 times.
The global journey began in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, then participated in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 editions, before returning to the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, all the way to the 2026 edition.
Thus, Al-Akhdar’s record combines 9 titles in the continental, Arab and Gulf championships, and 7 participations in the World Cup finals, in a journey that made it one of the most prominent Arab and Asian teams in presence and achievement.
The Saudi team needed to compete in 6 finals in the history of its participation in the Gulf Cup in order to succeed in breaking the knot that stuck with it in the final matches, after losing the previous five finals, before the awaited moment came in Jeddah, when it was crowned with the “Gulf 27” title at the expense of the Emirati team.
The previous five finals held different memories for the Saudi team, starting with a harsh loss to Kuwait with a score of 4-0 in a final held in Kuwait, before the failure was renewed in Muscat during “Gulf 19” in 2009, when the Omani team decided the final match on penalties.
In “Gulf 20” in Aden, the Saudi national team lost the final to Kuwait 1-0, then the fourth loss came at home in Riyadh during “Gulf 22” in 2014, when the Qatari team prevailed 2-1.
As for the last chapter of the series of losing finals, it came in Qatar against the Bahraini team, which won the final with a goal to none, bringing the tally of the “Green” team to 5 consecutive losses in the final matches.
But Jeddah had a different scenario this time. “Al-Akhdar” succeeded in overcoming the finals, turning the sixth final into a coronation station, after defeating the Emirati team with two goals to none, and lifting the “Gulf 27” Cup.
Thus, the Saudi team turned a page that extended through 5 consecutive finals without a title, and achieved its first victory in a final match after a series of failures, making the Jeddah final a turning point in the history of its participation in the Gulf Championship.
