Decisive matches in the 27th Gulf semi-finals and Saudi achievements in Asian Nagoya

The Saudi national team stands one step away from reaching the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup, “Gulf 27,” when it faces its Qatari counterpart, on Saturday, in an expected summit in the semi-finals, in which “Al-Akhdar” enters armed with its exemplary journey in the group stage, the ground staff and the audience, while “Al-Anabi” is betting on the experience of its members and its experience in major dates to overcome the landowner and continue its path to the title.

The confrontation contains many details that increase its heat. The Saudi team reached the semi-finals with a perfect record, after topping the first group with a full score, while the Qatari team crossed to the same round as runner-up in the second group without suffering any loss, bringing together the match between two teams that had not known defeat since the start of the tournament.

“Al-Akhdar” presented one of its most prominent performances in the group stage, as it collected 9 points from 3 consecutive victories, which began with a victory over Kuwait with an unanswered goal, before surpassing Oman by three clean goals, then concluding its journey with a victory with two goals to none against Iraq.

The Saudi national team's numbers did not stop at the full mark, as its players scored 6 goals, and the team kept a clean sheet in its three matches, an indicator that reflects the balance that the Greek Donis is looking for between defensive solidity and offensive effectiveness.

But the calculations will differ starting from the semi-finals, as there is no room for compensation, which is what Denis realizes, who stressed before the confrontation the need for his team to have a personality capable of dealing with knockout matches.

At the same time, Donis faces a challenge related to the physical condition of his team, after playing 3 matches within a short period of time, in addition to the injuries that affected a number of his members.

The absence of Zakaria Hawsawi from the upcoming matches was confirmed, while the technical staff awaits the final position of Hassan Timbukti, at a time when the “Green” team had previously lost the services of a number of its players during the tournament due to injuries.

Despite this, the Saudi team demonstrated in the group stage its ability to deal with absences and change elements and method of play, which gives the technical staff different options before the match, which is expected to witness a large audience attendance.

On the other hand, the Qatari team enters the confrontation with an unbeaten record as well, after collecting 7 points in the second group, following its wins over Bahrain and Yemen, before drawing with the UAE in the final round.

The defensive side appears to be one of Al-Anabi’s most prominent weapons, after conceding only one goal during its three matches, but it will face a different test facing a Saudi attack that succeeded in scoring in all its matches in the tournament.

Mystery surrounds the participation of Akram Afif, one of the most prominent keys to the Qatari game, after Lopetegui revealed in the press conference that he was suffering from a health problem, stressing that his position on participation has not yet been determined.

According to the statistics of the Saudi national team’s website, the two teams met 22 times in the Gulf Championship, during which the “Green” team achieved 10 victories, compared to 3 victories for the Qatari team, while 9 matches ended in a draw.

The Saudi team also excels in scoring by a clear margin, having scored 34 goals against Qatar, compared to 14 goals scored by Al-Annabi.

Majed Abdullah tops the list of top scorers for the Saudi national team in direct Gulf confrontations against Qatar, with 7 goals, so that the former Saudi star maintains a prominent presence in the historical record of the two teams’ matches.

The last confrontation that brought together Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Gulf Cup dates back to the 2019 edition that was held in Qatar, when the two teams met in the semi-finals also at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, and the Saudi team decided the match with a free goal, then progressing to the final.

On the other side of the city of Jeddah, another confrontation is being prepared that is no less exciting and competitive than the first confrontation, as the UAE team, the leader of the second group, will meet its counterpart, the Omani team, which is in second place in the first group.

Oman's qualification to this round in itself was the most exciting event in the tournament. Indeed, there were dramatic and exciting moments after its victory over Kuwait 3-1 and Iraq's loss to the Saudi team. However, one of the Omani team players receiving a yellow card in the match after the third goal celebration made things equal and the two teams resorted to a lottery to decide qualification, even though the Omani team celebrated the qualification on the field before it received the news of a tie on all points.

It was a very exciting night, but luck smiled on the side of the Omani team, which will face a very strong opponent, which is the Emirati team.

The UAE national team will face Oman in the “Gulf 27” semi-final after a strong campaign in the group stage, as it began the tournament by defeating Yemen 4-0, before surpassing Bahrain by three, then drawing with Qatar 1-1, to end the first round at the top of its group with 7 points, after scoring 8 goals and conceding one goal.

On the other hand, the Omani team reached the semi-finals through a more complicated path. It tied with Iraq 1-1, and lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0, before overturning its deficit against Kuwait to win 3-1 in the final round, thanks to a brace by Nasser Al-Rawahi and a goal by Musab Al-Shaqsi.

The victory raised Oman's score to 4 points, equal to Iraq in terms of qualification criteria, before the draw granted it a pass to the semi-finals, setting up a date with the Emirates in an irreplaceable confrontation, between “White” who did not know a loss in the tournament, and “Red” who snatched its qualification in the last moments.

The player of the Saudi jiu-jitsu team, Omar Nada, entered the history of Saudi sports from its widest gates, when he presented it with the first gold in jiu-jitsu, by grabbing first place in the 94 kg competition, on Friday, within the jiu-jitsu competitions in the twentieth Asian Games “Nagoya 2026”, which conclude on Sunday.

Neda began his journey towards gold, by subduing his Kyrgyzstani opponent, Ruslan Sagdiyev, in the quarter-finals, then he surpassed his Kazakhstani counterpart, Abdullah Dabil, with a score of 6-0, in the quarter-finals, and swept the Emirati, Abdullah Al-Kubaisi, with the advantage, thus qualifying for the final, in which South Korean Park Sunho raised the white flag against the Saudi talent. Announcing his victory in the first Saudi gold medal in Jiu-Jitsu at the Asian Games level.

Omar Nada's gold medal is his second personal medal in the Asian Games, where he previously recorded his name as the youngest Saudi player in the 2022 Hangzhou Masters to win a medal, after achieving a bronze medal in the under-85 kg category in the last edition of the tournament.

Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Vice President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Deputy Head of the Saudi delegation, crowned the winners of the 94 kg medals.

The Saudi Jiu-Jitsu team will conclude its participation in the tournament, with Ahmed Al-Issa in the 85 kg competition against South Korea in the round of 32, and Abdullah Nada in the round of 16 for the same weight, at 9:30 in the morning.

Nada said in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat: “In the last edition in Hangzhou, China, I won the silver medal and I was the youngest player at the age of 18. I trained more and now I am 21 years old and I felt that I had become stronger and capable of achieving gold.”

He added: “After the Asian gold, I am waiting to achieve another world medal, and God willing, it will be next year.”

Abdul Malik Al Mardi, player of the Saudi Jiu-Jitsu team, said that achieving a bronze medal in the Asian Games in Nagoya represents value for him and for Saudi sports, even though he was determined to achieve the gold medal in this edition after he achieved bronze in the last edition in Hangzhou, China.

He stated in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that the tournament is witnessing greater competition and an expansion of the competition base at the continental level compared to the previous edition, and he considered this an achievement for the country, indicating that achieving “3” medals on the first day of the competition confirms the development of the game and the Saudi players, praising what was also achieved on the second day, when his colleague Omar Nada achieved the gold medal.

While the young Saudi player, Khaled Habab, one of the youngest players in the Asian Games in Nagoya, confirmed that he removed fear from his heart and entered with confidence in order to achieve something for himself and for the country in this major continental tournament.

Habab, who won a bronze medal in his first participation with the Saudi team in jiu-jitsu, said that he aspires to continue developing in order to achieve greater achievements, especially since he is only 17 years old, indicating that he is happy with this achievement in his first appearance, and this will be an incentive for him in the future.

He stated that he played five matches, lost only one, and won the rest in his path towards winning the bronze medal.

On the other hand, the final day of e-sports competitions witnessed the Saudi team being crowned third place and the bronze medal for the “League of Legends” competitions, which was won by the team’s players Abdulaziz Al-Mubarak, Nawaf Al-Khowaiter, Sahel Waqqas, Nawaf Al-Jaeed, Ajwad Wazzan, and Khaled Al-Zahrani, on Thursday.

For its part, the Saudi show jumping team is looking for medals in the individual competitions on Saturday morning.

The organizing committee of the Asian Championship Equestrian Competition approved, for the first time in the history of the Masters, holding the individual competition, in a two-group system, with three medals (gold - silver - bronze) distributed to each group.

The technical staff of the Saudi Equestrian Team decided that the two riders, Khaled Al-Mubti and Saad Al-Ajmi, would participate in the first group competitions, and the presence of Ramzi Al-Dahami and Abdul Rahman Al-Rajhi in the second group competition.

Mohamed Salah's departure from the Egyptian national team camp during the international break sparked controversy in the Egyptian media, amid conflicting accounts about the real reasons behind the departure of the "Pharaohs" captain before the completion of the camp matches.

According to the official story circulating in the Egyptian media, Salah’s departure came based on a prior agreement between the player and the technical staff led by Hossam Hassan, which stipulated that he be exempted from participating against South Sudan due to the match being played on an artificial turf field, before it was also agreed that he would be absent from the friendly match with South Africa scheduled for October 4, with the aim of giving him rest and avoiding stress.

Egyptian media reports indicated that the decision was taken before the confrontation with Angola, and that Salah left the camp after completing his mission and returned to Turkey to attend Trabzonspor training and prepare for the resumption of local competitions.

But other accounts presented a different picture of what happened inside the camp, as they talked about tension that followed the goalless draw against Angola, after Hossam Hassan expressed his anger at the performance of his players inside the locker room, and blamed a number of them, including Mohamed Salah.

According to these accounts, Salah was not satisfied with some of the situations that took place in the match, especially after he was substituted in the 61st minute. There were also reports about his dissatisfaction with some of the statements that preceded the match, which prompted him to communicate with the President of the Egyptian Football Association, Hani Abu Rida, before leaving the camp the next day.

Some reports went further, considering that the talk about the artificial turf pitch was not the reason behind Salah’s departure, and that a state of anger was already present for the player, while other accounts confirmed that his decision not to play the match was known from the beginning of the camp and was not related to any unforeseen dispute.

On the other hand, a story appeared denying the existence of a major crisis between Salah and Hossam Hassan, as it indicated that the duo held a private session after the Angola match to discuss what happened, and that the session ended amicably, and that Salah did not leave the camp immediately after the match, but rather stayed until the next morning.

Between a story confirming that the departure was a technical and physical decision agreed upon in advance, and another linking it to what happened inside the locker room after the confrontation with Angola, controversy remained in Egypt about the truth of what happened, in light of the absence of a direct statement from Mohamed Salah explaining the reasons for his departure from the camp.