The Saudi national team will face its Iraqi counterpart, on Tuesday, with the ambition of finishing the group stage with a full score, when the two teams meet at Al-Enma Stadium in Jeddah, in the third and final round of the first group competitions of the Arabian Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 27), in a match that decides the identity of the group leader, while Oman clings to its last chance when it faces Kuwait at the same time at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
“Al-Akhdar” secured a pass to the semi-finals after collecting six points from two consecutive victories against Kuwait and Oman, while Iraq enters the confrontation with four points in its balance, looking to secure its qualification and seize the top spot in the group.
A draw is enough for the Saudi team to finish the group stage in first place, and a draw also guarantees Iraq a qualification card, while the “Lions of Mesopotamia” needs a victory to seize the lead.
On the other hand, Oman faces its counterpart, Kuwait, with the ambition of victory and waiting for Iraq to lose to Saudi Arabia to ensure accompanying “Al-Akhdar” to the semi-finals. Oman has one point, while Kuwait exited the competition after two consecutive losses, and Iraq outperforms Oman by goal difference of “+1 to -3.”
The Saudi national team made an ideal start, as it achieved two victories without conceding a goal, starting with a victory over Kuwait with a free goal, before beating Oman by three clean goals in a match that was decided during the first half, after Firas Al-Braikan scored two goals and Hassan Kadish added the third.
“Al-Akhdar” is looking forward to achieving its third victory in a row, despite the technical staff’s tendency to make changes to the lineup in light of ensuring qualification and the presence of a number of injuries.
Seraphim Angelinas, assistant to Greek coach Giorgos Donis, confirmed that the technical staff will give the opportunity to some new elements against Iraq, with the team’s goal continuing to achieve victory and finish the group in the lead. Donis was absent from the press conference due to his illness, according to his assistant.
The Saudi national team is missing the services of Alaa Al Hajji, Ali Lagami and Hassan Kadish due to injuries, after the latter suffered a thigh injury against Oman that forced him to leave in the 63rd minute, while the national team had previously lost the services of goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi.
Firas Al-Braikan stands out among the most important Saudi attacking cards after he scored a brace against Oman, at a time when the team showed greater offensive effectiveness compared to the opening match against Kuwait.
On the other hand, Iraq enters the confrontation ecstatic about its exciting victory over Kuwait 3-2, after Karar Nabil scored the winning goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time, bringing the “Lions of Mesopotamia” to four points after a 1-1 draw against Oman.
The victory gave Iraq a morale boost after it entered the tournament without any victory in its previous six matches, and also lost its three matches in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup to Norway, France and Senegal.
Australian Graham Arnold, Iraq's coach, sought to keep his players away from the pressure, as he closed the training session to the media and prevented press interviews before the confrontation.
Iraq faces a challenge related to yellow cards, as seven of its players carry warnings that they received against Oman-Kuwait, and they are Ibrahim Bayesh, Zaid Tahseen, Muhammad Qasim, Amir Al-Amari, Ahmed Qasim, Youssef Al-Nasrawi, and Karar Nabil, while Hussein Ali is absent due to a health problem.
The confrontations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq carry a long history of competition, as the two teams met 38 times, during which Iraq achieved 17 victories compared to 11 victories for Saudi Arabia, and 10 confrontations ended in a draw, and Iraq scored 56 goals compared to 34 for “Al-Akhdar”.
As for the Gulf Cup, the two teams met 10 times, according to the statistics of the Saudi national team website, during which Iraq achieved six victories compared to three for Saudi Arabia and one draw, and Iraq scored 22 goals versus eight Saudi goals.
In the second match, Oman entered the match against Kuwait with the slogan of victory alone, after drawing with Iraq 1-1 and losing to Saudi Arabia 0-3, while “Blue” bid farewell to the competition after losing to Saudi Arabia 0-1 and Iraq 2-3.
The recent direct confrontations give the advantage to Oman, which achieved eight victories in the last 11 confrontations against Kuwait since 2009, compared to one Kuwaiti victory and two draws. The last Omani victory was 1-0 in the World Cup qualifiers in March 2025, while their confrontation in the Gulf Cup in 2024 ended in a 1-1 draw.
Abdul Wahab Al-Awadhi will be absent from Kuwait after his expulsion against Iraq, while the Omani national team is seeking to regain its balance after achieving only three victories in its international matches since September 2025.
Moroccan Tariq Al-Saktiwi, coach of Oman, said before the confrontation: “A very important match for us, and as long as there is hope of qualifying, we will work on it 100 percent.” We have short-term and long-term goals, and facing tomorrow is important to achieve one of the goals that will help us in the future.”
The group enters its decisive round with clear calculations. Saudi Arabia has secured qualification and is looking for the full mark and the lead, and Iraq needs one point to accompany it, while Oman has no choice but to win over Kuwait and wait for a Saudi victory over the “Lions of Mesopotamia.”
On Tuesday, jumper Hussein Al-Hizam ends the participation of the Saudi athletics team in the Asian tournament, with his presence in the pole vault final, which will be held at twelve noon Saudi time.
Despite the difficulty of the competition, Al-Hizam seeks to win a medal again, as he won a bronze medal in the Hangzhou tournament in China 3 years ago, and he also wants to break personal records that he achieved previously.
On a related level to the mother of the games, the relay team finished the 400m race qualifiers, coming in sixth place with a time of 3.08.91 minutes, while the relay team did not complete the 100m race final due to an incorrect handover between the second and third runners.
Weightlifter Ali Al-Khazal will conclude the participation of the Saudi weightlifting team in the twentieth Asian Games, “Nagoya 2026,” by participating in the 110 kg competition, at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Al-Khazaal will enter the competition, along with a group of the most prominent Asian weightlifters, led by the Uzbek weightlifter, Akbar Duraev, the record holder, who won gold in the 109kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a record, and the silver medalist at the Paris Olympics in the 102kg category, and enters the competition with a total of 420kg.
There is also the Chinese Liu Huanhu, who is the first Chinese to win the Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight categories, specifically at the Paris Olympics, after he lifted a total of 406 kg in the 102m competition, and enters the competition with a total of 400 kg.
At the level of personal records, there is Iranian Ali Reza Nasiri with a total of 400 kg, Turkmen Hasanbayev Davranbek with a total of 405 kg, and Taiwanese Shin Bo-jin with a total of 420 kg, in addition to Al-Khazaal, who enters with a total of 394 kg.
The Saudi women's padel team lost its first match in the Asian tournament, which was held on Monday, in the round of 32, against the Philippines, with a score of 2-0. Al-Akhdar was represented in the competition match by Lina Al-Abdul Latif and Samaher Kurdi.
Meanwhile, the Saudi e-sports team will resume its participation in the Asian tournament, with its presence in the “League of Legends” and “Mobile Legends” competitions, at nine o’clock on Tuesday morning.
The “League of Legends” team, consisting of 6 players, will face its Vietnamese counterpart at nine in the morning, then the UAE at 11:30, then Malaysia at two in the afternoon, in the group stage competitions. Meanwhile, the “Mobile Legends” team, consisting of 6 players, will face Malaysia at eleven o’clock and Indonesia at one o’clock in the afternoon, in the group stage matches.
As for the medal winners in the current session, Mohammed Tolo, the Saudi Athletics team player who won the bronze medal in the shot put, confirmed that he was seeking to achieve the gold medal in the current Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, if he had won the silver medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games in China in 2023.
He said in his exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat after he won the bronze medal in the current tournament: “Thank God for achieving the bronze medal, and the weather conditions in the tournament were difficult, but we were ready to compete in any way.”
Regarding the talk about his changing the technical technique before the throw, which caused him to lose at least the silver medal, he said: “I changed my technique two seasons ago, and I was aspiring to achieve a higher position, and God willing, in the future I will be able to win the gold medal.”
He dedicated this new achievement to the nation, the leadership, the Saudi Ministry of Sports, Olympic and Paralympic Affairs, the Athletics Federation, his family, and everyone who supported him in his career, hoping to continue his path of achievements.
