KUWAIT: Kuwait advanced to the semifinals of the 26th Gulf Cup, after drawing with Qatar (1-1) on Friday evening, in the third “last” round of the group stage of the tournament.

Mohammed Daham scored the first goal for Kuwait in the 73rd minute, then Mohammed Muntari equalized for Qatar in stoppage time. The Blue raised its score to 5 points to take second place in Group A, and the Annabi’s (Qatar) score is two points to remain in fourth place. The Omani team topped the Group A table with 5 points, compared to 2 points for the UAE team, which ranked third.

The Omani team topped the standings ahead of the Kuwaiti team on a fair play difference, while Qatar and the UAE bid farewell to the tournament.

In the semifinals, the Omani team will play the second of the second group, while the Kuwaiti team will play the first of the second group.

Al-Anabi imposed an offensive advantage, but the danger remained absent, except for a chance by Al-Moez Ali that was brilliantly saved by Al-Rashidi.

Qatar’s Youssef Abdul Razzaq found the back of the net, but referee Mustafa Gharbal canceled the goal due to a foul in favor of the Rashidi goalkeeper.

Qatar increased their pressure in the second half and managed to reach Kuwait’s penalty area on more than one occasion. Mohamed Daham hit the right post of goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, then Muntari found the back of the net, but Mustafa Gharbal pointed to the offside flag.

Mohamed Daham managed to score the first goal for the Kuwaiti national team from a set-piece that settled in Salah Zakaria’s net in the 73rd minute.

Al-Anabi came close to equalizing on several occasions, especially after Almoez Ali’s header hit the right post of Rashidi’s goal. Al-Moez came back with a chance, but Al-Rashidi continued to shine, and before the end of the match, Muntari scored the equalizer to end the match (1-1).

Most optimists did not expect the Kuwaiti Blue to survive the “Qatar, UAE and Oman” pincers, after the draw placed them at the head of Group A of the 26th Khaleeji Gulf competitions, and the maximum hopes were to show a good level and not come out with heavy defeats. Fans and football insiders based their expectations on what the Kuwaiti national team presented in the past years, and also in the era of coach Juan Pizzi, who achieved only one victory against Afghanistan to qualify for the Asian Cup finals after an absence from the tournament since 2015.

The Blue’s results against Oman, the UAE and Qatar have not been encouraging at all, as victory has been far from the Blue in the face of the Omani Reds for 26 years, and the situation was not better in the face of the Al-Anabi and the White.

As Kuwait entered the first match against Oman in the 26th Gulf, which ended (1/1), the players and Pizzi were criticized, especially since the Reds controlled the game, especially the second half, and wasted many chances to decide the outcome of the match.

In the UAE match, Pizzi surprised fans and critics by relying on rookie Nasser Khader to replace the absence of Hassan Hamdan, which cost the Blue an early goal that almost ended the Blue’s march in the tournament, if not for the quick return of Mohammed Daham’s equalizer. Pizzi also changed his lineup in the second half against the UAE, which enabled Kuwait to snatch the victory in the last minutes through the feisty Moaz Al-Dhafiri.

Despite the Blue’s draw against Qatar, Kuwait appeared confident, imposing an attacking style in the second half, and had it not been for the Annabi post, Mohamed Daham would have scored a hat-trick.

Despite the lack of concentration in the final moments of the game, the end result was a happy ending. Kuwait secured a goalless draw to set up a date with Bahrain in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Overall, the Kuwaiti national team overcame many obstacles and achieved many gains beyond the ascent to the semifinals of Khaleeji Zain 26, especially at the level of self-confidence and certainty in the abilities of the players to be among the top of the yellow continent

Minister of Information and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi congratulated the Kuwaiti football team, the technical and administrative staff, the Kuwaiti Federation and the loyal fans on the deserved qualification of the team on Friday to the semifinal round of the Arabian Gulf Cup (Khaleeji Zain 26), which is hosted by the State of Kuwait and continues until January 3. “We are all confident in our champions and look forward to them always providing the best in the rest of us,” said Al-Mutairi, who heads the Supreme Organizing Committee of the tournament in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) after the team drew with their brother Qatar with a goal each in the final of the group stage.

Meanwhile, Tomooh Sports Club for the Mentally Challenged athletes were present at the Kuwait- Qatar match in support of Kuwait National Football Team and celebrated the qualification to the next round of Khaleeji Zain 26 Championship.