Saudi Arabia won the Gulf Cup for the fourth time in its history, after defeating the UAE in the final match in Jeddah.
On home soil and among its fans, Saudi Arabia, which reached the final for the first time since 2019, was able to win with two clean goals over the Emirates, scored by Hammam Al-Hammami and Firas Al-Braikan in the first half.
Thus, “Al-Akhdar” regained the title that had been absent from its coffers since 2004, raising its tally to 4 titles and rising to second place on the list of teams with the most titles, sharing with Iraq and five behind Kuwait (10 titles, the last of which was in 2010).
On the other hand, the UAE was unable to win the third title after waiting 13 years.
Before the final match, the Greek coach of the Saudi national team, Giorgos Donis, praised the technical level and tactical discipline shown by his players during their journey in the tournament, especially defensively because their sheet remained clean as a result of the teamwork and great efforts they made.
He said after the victory over Qatar in the semi-finals: “We faced a difficult team that played defensively, so creating chances was difficult. We succeeded in creating some, but we did not score, and this is normal in football.”
The Greek coach pointed to the impact of the pressure of the matches, adding: “In short and combined tournaments, fatigue is present. We must now focus on the last step, and we look forward to the support of the fans in the final, because their impact on us is great.”
On the other hand, the UAE, which defeated Oman 1-0 in the semi-finals, showed a great level under the leadership of its new Croatian coach, Zlatko Dalic, who took over the leadership of “Al-Abyad” a week before the start of (Gulf 27). However, he succeeded in finishing the group stage in the lead with 7 points after two wins and a draw, with eight goals scored for the first time since the tournament was held in a group system.
Al-Abyad also kept a clean sheet in three of the four matches it has played so far, and conceded one goal in a 1-1 draw against Qatar in the last round of the first round, during which it fielded a reserve squad after ensuring its qualification to the semi-finals, but the UAE conceded two goals in the final.
The final whistle is Moroccan
The Referees Committee of the Gulf Football Association assigned the management of the final match to Moroccan referee Jalal Jaid.
He is assisted by his compatriots Zakaria Prinsi and Mustafa Akrakad, while Kuwaiti Abdullah Jamali is the fourth referee, and his compatriot Saud Al-Shamali is the fifth referee.
Figures from the reality of the tournament
The Emirati team, Al-Abyad, is considered the strongest team in the tournament in attack, scoring 9 goals, while the Bahraini team is considered the lowest-scoring team, having scored only two goals.
On the defense front, the Saudi “Green” team is considered the strongest defensively, not conceding any goals, while the Bahraini team conceded the most goals, with 10 goals.
Omani Nasser Al Rawahi is currently the tournament's top scorer, scoring 3 goals.
Register titles
The Kuwaiti team is the team that has won the most Gulf titles, followed by the Iraqi team.
10 titles: Kuwait (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010).
4 titles: Iraq (Iraq 1979, 1984, 1988, 2023), Saudi Arabia (1994, 2002, 2003-2004, 2026).
3 titles: Qatar (1992, 2004, 2014).
