Oman's national team qualified for the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup (Khaleeji 27) after a draw was held between them and Iraq.
The organizing committee resorted to a draw, held more than an hour after the end of the match, following Iraq and Oman being tied in all statistics during the group stage.
The two teams were equal in points, goals scored, goal difference, and fair play.
Each team received 8 yellow cards during the 3 matches in the group stage.
This necessitated a draw to determine the last qualifier for the final four, alongside Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
What happened?
Before the start of Matchday 3, the battle for the second-place ticket was narrowed down to Iraq and Oman, after Saudi Arabia had already qualified from the previous round and Kuwait had been eliminated.
Oman entered the final match hoping for their own victory and an Iraqi loss to make up a 3-goal difference in order to snatch the qualification ticket.
Indeed, Saudi Arabia won 2-0 against Iraq, and Oman defeated Kuwait 3-1. The balance between Iraq and Oman in the tournament became equal in every aspect—points, goals scored, goal difference, and also fair play—making a draw the solution to determine who would qualify alongside Saudi Arabia for the next round.
Saudi Arabia's national team won with a score of 2-0 thanks to goals by Abdullah Al-Sulaim and Abdullah Al-Hamdan in minutes 54 and 69.
In another match, Oman's national team overturned their first-half deficit against Kuwait to win 3-1.
Kuwait's "Blue" side took the lead through Shihab Al-Khalidi in minute 6.
Oman turned the situation around in the second half by scoring 3 goals in 19 minutes.
Nasser Al-Rawahi scored a brace in minutes 65 and 81, while Musab Al-Shaqsi sealed the match with a third goal in minute 84.
Al-Shaqsi celebrated his third goal by taking off his shirt, which added a new yellow card to Oman's tally, resulting in the two teams being tied at 8 yellow cards each, matching Iraq.
These results favored the Omani national team, whose players celebrated qualifying for the semi-finals thanks to the fair play rule. However, the organizing committee announced that a draw would be held to determine the qualifier after receiving the referees' report.
The draw was conducted at one of the hotels in Jeddah city, which confirmed Oman's advancement to the next round.
