Saudi football returned to register its presence again in the final scene of the regional championships, after the first Saudi team was able to reserve its place in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament “Gulf 27” held in Jeddah, so that this crossing represents a restoration of the tone of the competition for titles and the first arrival of Al-Akhdar to the final matches after a long absence, specifically since December 2019 in “Gulf 24”, when it settled for runner-up after losing to Bahrain with an unanswered goal.
The stage that followed that witnessed a relative decline in the results of the regional tournaments due to the focus being directed towards the World Cup qualifiers, as Al-Akhdar competed in the 2021 Arab Cup in Qatar with a list dominated by reserve players to be eliminated from the group stage, and then repeated the experience with the same scenario and early exit in the “Gulf 25” in Iraq after participating in the Olympic team.
On the continental level, Al-Akhdar appeared in a more cohesive manner in the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar and qualified at the top of his group, before his career stopped in the quarter-finals with a loss to South Korea on penalties after an equal marathon match.
The experience extended to include participation by special invitation in the 2025 Gold Cup and reaching the quarter-finals, followed by reaching the 2025 Arab Cup semi-finals and occupying fourth place, leading to the current version of “Gulf 27” and qualifying for the final after overcoming Qatar on penalties in the golden square.
The Saudi team’s qualification to the “Gulf 27” final in Jeddah brought back the dream of coronation to a generation of fans who were born after the last Gulf title for Al-Akhdar, and grew up watching attempts to regain the cup without experiencing the joy of winning it.
By defeating the Qatari team 3-2 on penalties, after a scoreless draw in regular and extra time, Al-Akhdar is one game away from ending the wait to exceed 22 years, when he plays the final on Tuesday, October 6.
This return carries a meaning that goes beyond adding a title to the national team’s record. Whoever was a ten-year-old child at the time of the last coronation is now in his early thirties, while those born in the following years have reached the age of youth, without having seen Al-Akhdar lift the Gulf Cup in a tournament they witnessed.
The final decisive moment dates back to January 8, 2004, when Yasser Al-Qahtani scored two goals to win against Yemen in “Gulf 16” in Kuwait, ensuring the Saudi team secured the title before the conclusion of the tournament. Al-Akhdar finished his campaign at that time with 14 points, collected from four wins and two draws, preserving the cup he won in the previous edition on home soil.
Although this edition is linked to the year 2003 in some records, its competitions extended from December to January of the following year. Therefore, the calculation of absence from the coronation begins from the beginning of 2004, when the team won its third title, after being crowned in the UAE in 1994 and Saudi Arabia in 2002.
In less than ten years, Al-Akhdar collected his three Gulf titles, before entering a waiting period that exceeded twice that period. Between the two stages, names changed and generations passed, and the fourth title remained far away despite repeatedly reaching the last match.
In Muscat in 2009, the Saudi national team reached the final against Oman, and the confrontation ended without goals before a penalty shootout gave the hosts their first title. A year later, Al-Akhdar returned to the final in the Yemen edition, but lost to Kuwait with a free goal in overtime, ending two consecutive tournaments in runner-up position.
The opportunity was renewed on Saudi soil in 2014, when Riyadh hosted the final match against Qatar, but the Qatari team won it with a score of 2-1. Then came the Doha station in 2019, which ended with Saudi Arabia losing to Bahrain with an unanswered goal, completing four finals after the Kuwait title, none of which Al-Akhdar succeeded in deciding.
These stations reveal part of the burden of waiting. The team came close to the cup more than once, while its younger fans were moving from childhood to adolescence and then youth. Whoever started following the ball in the 2009 final, today he has a memory that extends over several attempts, in which hopes of coronation came and his moment remained postponed.
The Saudi record also contains a paradox that gives the Jeddah final an additional dimension. The three titles were achieved in a single group system, when the coronation was decided by topping the points table. As for victory in the next final, if achieved, it will give Al-Akhdar his fourth title and the first Gulf coronation by deciding a final match.
This detail brings the focus back to the challenge that awaits the team after overtaking Qatar. Reaching the final match was repeated, while the decisive step remained absent. In Jeddah, there is a new opportunity to change the ending that fans have known at four stations since the last coronation.
Throughout this wait, pictures of the Kuwaiti title became part of an archive that was returned to those who did not live with it. The upcoming final gives these people the opportunity to witness a similar moment in their time, making the potential coronation a meeting point between a generation that retains memories of previous cups, and another waiting to add to their memory a cup that they saw being raised in front of them.
The final chapter remains open in Jeddah. The victory will record a fourth title in the Saudi team’s record, but it will carry a different number for those born after January 2004: the first cup that they saw Al-Akhdar raise in their lives.
The Saudi team succeeded in overcoming the obstacle of penalty kicks that previously deprived it of the Gulf title, through which it crossed this time to the final of the 27th edition held in Jeddah, after beating its Qatari counterpart with a score of 3-2 in the semi-final.
This victory not only gave Al-Akhdar the ticket to qualify for the final, but also restored confidence to the players and fans in breathtaking moments, in which lucky kicks turned into a source of great joy in the stands of the match stadium, which witnessed a remarkable crowd presence.
This confrontation is recorded in history as the first time that Al-Akhdar played penalty kicks in the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup, and the only previous memory of penalty kicks dates back to the “Gulf 19” final in 2009 against the Oman national team in Muscat, where the original and extra time ended in a goalless draw, before the kicks smiled at the Omani team with a score of (5 - 6) and the title was crowned at Al-Akhdar’s expense.
But the scenario of the past was not repeated in Jeddah, where the Saudi national team players showed stability and high mental presence against Qatar, ending the series in their favor with a score of (3-2).
This decision demonstrated the ability of the current elements to deal with high pressures, and sent a strong message before entering the final match to compete for the Gulf title.
