Oman, the runner-up, aspires to be crowned champion for the third time in its history when it meets Bahrain, which is seeking the second title, at 8:30 pm today, at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait, in the final match of the 26th Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 26).
It will be the first time that Oman and Bahrain meet in the final since the elimination system was adopted in the tournament in the 2004 edition.
Oman confirmed its specialization in the elimination system, as it competed in the sixth final, and won the title twice in 2009 and 2017, after obtaining fourth place was the best it achieved over the course of 14 previous participation in the tournament in a one-group system.
Oman owes its qualification to the third final in the last four editions to its coach, Rashid Jaber, who can become the first national coach to lead his country to the Gulf title since Mahdi Ali with the Emirates in 2013.
Jaber, 60 years old, who holds a degree in engineering like Mehdi Ali, took over his duties in September as a replacement for the Czech Jaroslav Sjelhavy, and transferred the “Red” to another place and restored to his players “spirit and passion,” as he wished in his first statement after assuming the helm of leadership.
Oman entered the “Gulf 26” in Kuwait suffering in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, occupying fourth place in its group, with a difference of five points from second-place Iraq, which qualifies directly to the finals.
But since its first match with Kuwait (1-1), then its victory over Qatar 2-1, and another draw with the Emirates 1-1 after it was losing until the 79th minute and its qualification for the semi-finals at the top of the first group, it confirmed that something has changed in the team that was It suffered four defeats out of six matches in the decisive third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“Al-Ahmar” continued to surprise its rivals by defeating Saudi Arabia 2-1, even though it played with 10 players after its player, Al-Mundhir Al-Alawi, was sent off in the 34th minute, and the latter will miss the final.
Untie the knot
For its part, Bahrain aspires to its second title after the first in the previous edition, “Gulf 24”, which was held in the Qatari capital, Doha, in 2019.
Bahrain struck hard at the beginning of the tournament by defeating Saudi Arabia 3-2, and was the first to qualify for the semi-finals by defeating Iraq 2-0, before losing to Yemen 1-2 in a win-win match in the third round after it had secured the top spot in Group Two, before being ousted. Host Kuwait won in the round of four 1-0.
Today’s match will be the 23rd between Oman and Bahrain in the tournament, and the balance is tilted in favor of Bahrain with eight victories, five defeats and nine draws.
The Bahraini national team will seek to equal Oman’s titles in the tournament, in addition to breaking the last knot in the decisive rounds, as Bahrain lost in four confrontations with Oman in the semi-finals of the Gulf Championship.
Bahrain is counting on its midfield, led by Kamil Al-Aswad, Sayed Dhiaa Saeed, Ali Madan, Mohammed Marhoon, and Mahdi Humaidan, in addition to striker Mohammed Al-Rumaihi, who will compensate for the absence of the expelled Mahdi Abdul-Jabbar in the semi-final match against Kuwait.
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