The West Asian Gulf Cup football tournament is in full swing! The past night was arguably the craziest night in Asian football. In the last round of Group B matches, a do-or-die battle for qualification, Saudi Arabia defeated Iraq 3-1, while Bahrain suffered a surprising 1-2 defeat at the hands of Yemen. The results shocked many fans.
The match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq saw both teams with one win and one loss, accumulating 3 points each, ranking second and third respectively before the game. The winner of this match would secure a spot in the knockout stage. Both teams had previously lost to Bahrain, and their form was not particularly impressive. However, Iraq ranked higher than Saudi Arabia, leading many fans to believe that Iraq would emerge victorious. After all, Saudi Arabia's recent performance has indeed been lackluster.
From the start of the game, Saudi Arabia displayed an all-out attacking mentality, while Iraq seemed slightly unprepared psychologically. Although Iraq was on the back foot, their defense held up well. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, Saudi Arabia took the initiative to strengthen their attack. They first scored from a penalty kick opportunity. However, they were quickly equalized by Iraq. It became clear that Saudi Arabia was well-prepared, as Hamdan scored twice within seven minutes. Ultimately, Saudi Arabia triumphed over Iraq 3-1, securing their qualification.
In the other match, group leaders Bahrain faced off against bottom-placed Yemen. For Bahrain, they had already secured their place in the next round and were even guaranteed top spot in the group. Regardless of the outcome of the other match, no team could surpass Bahrain's points tally. Moreover, Bahrain had the advantage in head-to-head records. Therefore, their match against Yemen was more about training their players. Yemen, having already been eliminated, played their last match for honor.
It was hard to imagine that Yemen, ranked 158th in the world, could cause such trouble for Bahrain, ranked 81st. In the first half, although Bahrain dominated, Yemen did not give them many chances. Instead, during one of Yemen's attacks, a Bahraini defender scored an own goal, giving Yemen a surprising 1-0 lead at halftime. In the second half, Bahrain intensified their attack and equalized in the 62nd minute. Unfortunately, a Bahraini player was then sent off with a red card. Yemen scored the decisive goal in the 88th minute. In the end, Bahrain suffered a surprising 1-2 defeat to Yemen.
With these results, the top four teams in the Gulf Cup have emerged: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman will advance to the semifinals together.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are competitors for China's national team in the top 18 qualifiers. Bahrain won against both Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the group stage, while Saudi Arabia's form has clearly improved. Compared to their previous performances in the top 18 qualifiers, both teams have shown significant improvement, which is a blow to China's national team. This is bad news for China. In the next round of the top 18 qualifiers, China's national team will face Saudi Arabia away from home. In the final round of the top 18 qualifiers, China's national team will host Bahrain. Can China's national team achieve their goal of direct qualification for the World Cup? We'll have to wait and see!