The Saudi national team will face Qatar, next Saturday, in the “Gulf 27” semi-final, based on a remarkable record in this round of the Gulf Cup tournaments, after it succeeded in surpassing the semi-finals in five of its previous seven matches, as shown by its participation records, against only two losses.
The next confrontation carries additional privacy, as it will be the third between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the semi-finals of the Gulf Championship, after the two previous confrontations ended with Saudi supremacy, the first more than half a century ago, and the second in the 2019 edition.
The Saudi team's semi-final confrontations against Qatar began on March 27, 1974, when Al-Akhdar won 3-1 in Kuwait, writing its first victories in this round against the Qatari team.
After 45 years, the date between the two teams was renewed in the semi-finals, specifically on December 5, 2019, when Saudi Arabia beat Qatar with a free goal in Al-Wakrah.
Thus, Al-Akhdar enters Saturday’s match with a perfect record against Qatar in the semi-final in particular, after achieving victory in the previous two matches, scoring four goals against one Qatari goal.
Aside from its confrontations with Qatar, the results of the Saudi team in the semi-finals reveal its success in surpassing this round five times out of seven previous matches.
After its first victory over Qatar 3-1 in 1974, the Saudi national team lost to the UAE 1-0 in Abu Dhabi on January 27, 2007.
Al-Akhdar returned two years later to reach the final through Kuwait, after defeating them with a goal-free goal in Muscat on January 14, 2009.
In the 2010 edition, Saudi Arabia and the UAE met in the semi-finals in Aden on December 2, and the Saudi team succeeded in resolving the confrontation with a goal to none.
The meeting with the Emirates was repeated again in the semi-finals of the 2014 edition, this time in Riyadh on November 23, and Al-Akhdar emerged victorious 3-2, in the highest-scoring match among their previous seven matches in this round, with five goals.
Then came the confrontation with Qatar in 2019, which ended with a 1-0 Saudi victory. The Greens then achieved their fourth successive victory in their semi-final matches, after defeating Kuwait in 2009, the UAE in 2010 and 2014, and then Qatar.
The series stopped in the last edition, when the Saudi team faced Oman in Kuwait on December 31, 2024, and lost 1-2, making it its second loss in the seven matches it played in this round, after losing to the Emirates in 2007.
In numbers, the Saudi national team played 7 previous matches in the Gulf Cup semi-finals, winning 5 and losing 2 matches, without any of them ending in a draw. During those matches, he scored 10 goals, while conceding 6 goals.
The UAE tops the list of teams facing Saudi Arabia the most in the semi-finals with three matches, the Greens won two of them by scores of 1-0 and 3-2, and lost one of them 0-1. Qatar faced two matches, which ended 3-1 and 1-0 with Saudi Arabia, while Al-Akhdar faced Kuwait and Oman once. It won against Kuwait 1-0 and lost to Oman 1-2.
With the arrival of “Gulf 27” to the semi-final station, the Saudi team will be facing it for its eighth appearance in this round according to the matches listed in the record, while Qatar will be facing it for the third time.
Between the 1974 confrontation, which ended with a Saudi hat-trick, and the 2019 victory with a single goal, Saturday comes to write the third chapter of the confrontations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Gulf Cup semi-finals. A confrontation that Al-Akhdar enters after he passed through this station on five of seven previous occasions, and without Qatar having previously stopped him there.
