FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN went down fighting against Saudi Arabia last night in the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2026, currently being played in Doha, Qatar.
After Saudi went ahead early in the second half, Bahraini goalkeeper Ali Saeed equalised in the fourth minute of injury time with a deflected effort from inside the area to send the contest straight into penalties.
There, skipper Talal Yusuf missed the Bahrainis’ opening kick, which was eventually enough to separate the two sides with the Saudis converting all their opportunities to come away with a 5-4 shootout victory.
Following Yusuf’s shot, which he sent just wide of the left post, Bahrain netted their four other spot kicks – with Hussain Ali, Sayed Mahmood Jalal, Mahmood Abdulrahman, and Sayed Mohammed Adnan all converting.
But the Saudis had the advantage and Rashed Al Raheeb made no mistake with his winning penalty, which he sent to the bottom-left corner of the net with Saeed guessing the wrong way.
With the result, Saudi will next be taking on Iraq in the final, which is scheduled to be played tomorrow at Doha’s Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, scheduled for a 7pm kick-off, Bahrain time.
The Iraqis booked their place after beating hosts Qatar 4-0 in last night’s other semi-final.
This year’s Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2026 has featured the most prominent football stars and legends, aged 40 years old and above, from the eight member nations of the Gulf Football Federation.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh