The Saudi national team regained the Gulf Cup after an absence of more than 22 years, crowning it with its fourth title after defeating the Emirates in the “Gulf 27” final in Jeddah, so that a new generation of its players wrote a chapter in the history of “Al-Akhdar” and gave its fans the joy they had been waiting for since January 2004.
From Kuwait, where the third title was achieved, to Jeddah, which witnessed the recovery of the cup, years of waiting extended, before the team added its new crown to its previous titles in the Emirates in 1994, Riyadh in 2002, and Kuwait in the 2003-2004 edition.
“Al-Akhdar” made his way to gold without losing, starting his journey with three victories over Kuwait, Oman and Iraq, in which he topped his group with a full score, after scoring 6 goals and keeping a clean sheet.
In the semi-finals, the team passed a different test against Qatar. The confrontation extended for 120 minutes without goals, before the pass was decided on penalty kicks, and he completed his journey by defeating the Emirates in the final match.
The cup gave the group led by Greek coach Giorgos Donis an achievement that places the names of its players in the record of Gulf champions, after it succeeded in completing the journey from the opening victory until the title was clinched.
Muhammad Al Owais entered the records of historical goalkeepers in the Gulf Cup, after he finished “Gulf 27” with a clean sheet, becoming the fifth goalkeeper in the history of the tournament to succeed in keeping his goal free of goals throughout the competitions of a full edition.
Al Owais joined a rare list that includes Kuwaiti Ahmed Al Trabelsi in “Gulf 3”, Omani Ali Al Habsi, Saudi Walid Abdullah in “Gulf 19”, and Emirati Khaled Issa in “Gulf 23”.
But the most prominent figure on this list is not limited to keeping clean sheets, but rather extends to combining this achievement with winning the title. Three goalkeepers succeeded in achieving the championship without conceding a goal, and they are Ahmed Al-Trabelsi with Kuwait in “Gulf 3”, Ali Al-Habsi with Oman in “Gulf 19”, and Muhammad Al-Owais with Saudi Arabia in “Gulf 27”.
As for Walid Abdullah, he kept a clean sheet in “Gulf 19”, but did not win the title, while Khaled Issa achieved the same defensive achievement with the Emirates in “Gulf 23”, without finishing the tournament as a champion.
Thus, Al Owais adds a double achievement to his international record. A Gulf title and a clean sheet throughout the tournament, becoming only the third goalkeeper in the history of the Gulf Cup to combine both achievements.
What is noteworthy is that this list extends over more than five decades. From Ahmed Al-Tarabulsi in “Gulf 3” to Muhammad Al-Owais in “Gulf 27”, and between them there are names that left their mark in the history of the tournament, so that maintaining a clean sheet throughout an entire edition remains one of the rarest numbers in the Gulf Cup.
The young Al-Akhdar battalion, led by the experienced Greek coach Denis, put an end to Saudi football’s long absence from the podium, and captured the Gulf Cup title “Gulf 27”, for the fourth time after the years “1994, 2002 and 2003”, at the expense of the Emirati team 2-0 in the confrontation that brought them together at Al-Enmaa Stadium “The Radiant Jewel” in Jeddah, in the presence of a full crowd.
From the beginning of the match, the young Green Stars, led by Greek coach Denis, presented a fiery display, which resulted in two goals from the first quarter of an hour, and they put their opponent in a difficult angle to catch up with the score and keep up with them in performance and football solo play.
The fans of the Saudi team ignited the atmosphere of the “Gulf 27” final early by uploading a wonderful “Tifo” before the start of the match that brings together the Saudi and Emirati teams. The Saudi fans raised a huge “Tifo” showing a Saudi fan wearing a green scarf as he prepared to shoot his arrow towards the goal, in reference to the desire of the team, nicknamed Green, to win the title in its favor and win the championship on its home soil and among its large fans, while the southern stand raised a Tifo bearing the phrase “We only throw... a share.” The brilliant player, Hammam Al-Hammami, succeeded in igniting the atmosphere early by scoring the first goal for Al-Akhdar in the 11th minute, taking advantage of the return of the ball from inside the penalty area following a corner kick. He shot it powerfully and changed its path after colliding with one of the Emirates players, so that goalkeeper Khaled Issa found it very difficult to confront it.
Two minutes later, Firas Al-Braikan documented Al-Akhdar’s terrifying start after scoring the second goal, taking advantage of a cunning pass from his colleague Nasser Al-Dosari that penetrated the White defenses, finding himself facing the goal, and shooting it to the left of goalkeeper Khaled Issa.
