Musab Al-Shaqsi’s celebration of the third goal caused Oman to lose direct qualification to the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup “by card difference” over Iraq after they were equal in points and goals.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation will meet at a later time to hold a draw in order to determine the team that qualifies from second place in the first group.
The closing night of the first group matches in “Gulf 27” witnessed an exciting drama after Iraq lost to the host Saudi team with a score of 0-2. On the other hand, Oman beat Kuwait with a score of 3-1 so that the Saudi team qualified from the top spot with a full score (9 points).
The balance of Iraq and Oman stopped at 4 points, in addition to being equal in the number of goals scored and received, as well as equal in the number of yellow cards, 8-8.
It is noteworthy that Al-Shaqsi's teammates tried to dissuade him from taking off his shirt in order to avoid the yellow card and rise to the "Fair Play" runner-up, one card ahead of Iraq, but the player's crazy joy overcame the scene and the referee announced the yellow card and Oman was forced to wait and watch for the result of the draw.
Portuguese Hélio Sousa, coach of the Kuwaiti national team, attributed the loss to Oman to the lack of effectiveness in the final touch, noting that “Blue” was able to come out with a better result, but did not capitalize on the opportunities it was given.
Souza said during the press conference after the match: “We started the match excellently, and we could have scored a second goal, but the final touch was one of the reasons for the loss. The Omani team, in turn, had a number of opportunities and succeeded in exploiting our weaknesses.”
He added: “We could have achieved a better result, but the Omani team had more combat during the match.”
The Kuwaiti coach admitted that there were aspects that needed improvement in his team’s performance, explaining: “There are some gaps in our capabilities, and we could have played better, but we cannot maintain the same level throughout 90 minutes.”
He continued: “There are things that have improved, but on the other hand, we still have some weak points that must be worked on and developed in the future.”
Oman achieved a huge surprise, and was able to equal Iraq in points and goals in the first group of the 27th Gulf Cup tournament in Jeddah, forcing the Mesopotamian Lions to participate in a draw in a Jeddah hotel on Tuesday evening to determine who qualifies with the Saudi national team to the semi-finals of the tournament.
This came after it beat Kuwait 3-1 in the third and final round of the first group matches, which witnessed the third victory for Saudi Arabia, as it beat Iraq 2-0.
The Oman national team's chance of qualifying had declined significantly at the end of the second round, but it turned an early goal deficit against Kuwait into an exciting victory, benefiting from a brace scored by Nasser Al Rawahi and a third goal from Musab Al Shaqsi.
Kuwait opened the scoring early when Shabib Al-Khalidi headed towards the ball from a corner kick and put it into the net with a skillful touch.
Oman equalized in the 65th minute, when Jamil Al Yahmadi sent a pass towards the penalty area to Al Rawahi, who shot a creeping ball that deceived the defense and found its way into the net.
Oman took the lead in the 81st minute with Al-Rawahi’s second goal, who received a pass from Zaher Al-Aghbari and shot the ball powerfully into the goal.
Three minutes later, Musab Al Shaqsi added Oman's third goal when he received the ball from a corner kick and headed it into the net.
