The national football team lost to its Kuwaiti counterpart (1-2) in the match that brought them together, yesterday, in the Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 26), currently being held in Kuwait, at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
“Al-Abyad” suffered from repeated mistakes by its defenders, as Khalifa Al-Hammadi committed two fatal defensive lapses, when the Kuwaiti player Muhammad Daham cut the ball from him, so he went alone with goalkeeper Khaled Issa and put it to his right, scoring the first goal for the Kuwaiti team, “16”, and in a second mistake, Al-Hammadi returned the ball. To goalkeeper Khaled Issa, but Moaz Al-Enezi reached the ball first, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and put the ball into the goal “89,” scoring the second goal.
It is the third mistake in a row committed by “Al-Abyad” defender Al-Hammadi, after he caused the penalty kick from which Akram Afif scored the goal to advance the Qatari team over “Al-Abyad” in the opening match that ended in a draw (1-1).
The national team enters its next match against Oman in the final round, and it has no choice but to win, to maintain its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, after its score froze at one point, while the Kuwaiti team raised its score to four points.
The national team had started the match in the best way, when it took the lead early after an organized attack from the right, through which Harib Abdullah penetrated to put the ball over the Kuwaiti national team goalkeeper, and Caio completed it into the goal, “5”.
Then, “Al-Abyad” had the opportunity again to increase its lead, from a ball distributed by Meloni to Lima, who shot into the goal, but goalkeeper Khaled Al-Rashidi sent it away to a corner.
Mohamed Dahham returned to threaten the “Al-Abyad” goal with another solo shot, but Khaled Issa blocked the attempt this time.
The Mauritanian referee, Dahan Beida, ignored the “White” players’ request to award a penalty kick after Hareb Abdullah was obstructed inside the box by Kuwaiti defender Mishari Al-Ghanem, which was repeated in another similar game, but without the whistle issuing any decision.
The national team continued its pressure on Kuwait’s goal, and had many opportunities to restore its lead, the most notable of which was Yahya Al-Ghassani’s header, which went just over the crossbar.
The “white” post prevented a goal from Yahya Al-Ghassani’s shot, which ended an organized attack, and the defense then sent it to a corner.
Upon returning from the break, the national team continued its advantage, but Caio refused to score from an easy opportunity when he followed a rebound from the Kuwaiti goalkeeper to complete it into the goal, but the ball hit the foot of defender Mishari Al-Ghanem and turned into a corner.
The Kuwaiti national team had its most dangerous opportunity in the second half with a free kick from an ideal position in front of the goal, but Youssef Nasser shot into the human wall.
Bruno Oliveira missed a great opportunity when he received a pass close to the goal, but he played it very strangely over the crossbar.
Al-Abyad’s efforts to win were dealt a heavy blow, as defender Kwame was sent off before conceding the second goal, which won for the Kuwaiti national team.
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