The second group of the Arabian Gulf Football Cup “Gulf 26” will witness great excitement, when the two matches of the third round will be held at 18:30 this evening, where Saudi Arabia will meet Iraq at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, and Bahrain will meet Yemen at the Jaber Al-Mubarak Stadium.
The Bahrain national team clinched the first place and the top spot in the standings with six points after winning the first and second rounds over Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Its match against Yemen has no impact on its position in the group, but it is looking forward to winning and obtaining the full score of points (9 out of 9). To the Yemeni national team, it lost its two matches against the same two teams, leaving it without any points and being out of the competition.
“Bahraini Red” secured the lead in the second group due to its superiority in direct confrontations over the Saudi and Iraqi teams, in accordance with Article Seven of the regulations and rules of the Gulf Championship, which stipulates that if two or more teams are equal in the number of points, the goal difference is considered if the team does not excel. over the other in direct confrontations.
Bahrain’s victory over Iraq by two goals in the second round was a gift to its Saudi counterpart before the “Green” match against the “Lions of Mesopotamia” in the third round, as the Iraqi team became third with three points and a goal difference from the Saudi team, which occupies second place in the standings, where Al-Akhdar scored five goals and conceded the same, while the “Lions of Mesopotamia” scored one goal and conceded two goals.
The confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq will determine the team that will accompany the “Bahraini Red” to the semi-finals, and the Saudi team’s chances are greater than its Iraqi counterpart, as the “Green” team enters the match with two chances of winning or drawing to snatch the qualification ticket.
In the event of a tie, the score of the Saudi and Iraqi teams will rise to four points, and thus the advantage will be in favor of “Al-Akhdar”, because their goal difference is “zero” after scoring five goals and conceding the same, unlike their competitor who scored one goal and conceded two goals.
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