The Saudi national team continued its suffering in the 26th Gulf Championship currently being held in Kuwait, after suffering a well-deserved loss from its Bahraini counterpart, who outplayed it in play and result and won 3-2, taking the lead in the second group, deservedly.
After a disappointing journey in the World Cup qualifiers, Al-Akhdar continued to present a lackluster image of himself in the Gulf Cup tournament and became unable to present himself in the required image. He fell in his first serious and real test in the tournament, and his position deteriorated greatly in reaching the semi-finals, as he would face Yemen in the second round. It concludes its matches by meeting Iraq in the final round, and has no choice but to win both matches.
For its part, the Bahraini national team appeared as an extraordinary candidate to win the 26th Gulf title, after convincing everyone of its ability to reach the furthest extent in the tournament.
In turn, the Iraqi team achieved a very difficult victory over the Yemeni team with an unanswered goal, making its match against Bahrain pivotal in determining its qualification for the semi-finals, as the victory of one of the two teams means it is officially nominated for the second stage.
The second group outperformed its first counterpart in the number of goals, as it witnessed six goals scored compared to four goals for the first group, which saw the UAE and Qatar draw 1-1, and with the same score, Kuwait and Oman tied.
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