The final round of the group stage in the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, "Gulf 27," witnessed a great deal of excitement, particularly regarding the second qualifier from Group A alongside Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi national team defeated their Iraqi counterparts by 2-0, in a match played today, Tuesday, at Al-Inmaa Stadium in Jeddah, during the third and final round of the group stage of the Gulf tournament, thereby qualifying as the leaders of Group A with 9 points.
At the same time, the Oman national team achieved an exciting victory, overturning a one-goal deficit against Kuwait to win 3-1 in the final minutes of the match.
After the conclusion of both matches, the Omani players celebrated qualifying for the semi-finals, despite being tied with the Iraqi team in every aspect, whether in terms of points and goals, or even fair play.
Both Iraq and Oman earned 4 points, having drawn 1-1 in their first match, with each team scoring 4 goals and conceding 5. Additionally, each received 8 yellow cards, with no red cards issued.
The Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" reported that the Arabian Gulf Football Federation will hold a draw shortly at a hotel in Jeddah to determine the qualifier between Iraq and Oman, after they were tied in every respect, with no factor favoring one over the other.
This has become one of the rare instances in world football where qualification from the group stage is decided by a draw, despite this provision existing in the regulations of all tournaments without ever being applied.
Breaking | Sources for "Asharq Al-Awsat": A draw between Iraq and Oman will be held shortly at the InterContinental Hotel in Jeddah to determine the qualifier for the semi-finals of the Arabian Gulf Cup ("Gulf 27"), following Oman's 3-1 victory over Kuwait and Iraq's 0-2 loss to Saudi Arabia@aawsat_spt
