Supersub Al Hamdan sends Saudi Arabia into Gulf Cup semi-finals; Yemen bag first victory

Kuwait City: Substitute Abdullah Al Hamdan scored twice to send Saudi Arabia through to the semi finals of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup with a 3 1 victor...

Kuwait City: Substitute Abdullah Al Hamdan scored twice to send Saudi Arabia through to the semi-finals of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup with a 3-1 victory over Iraq, while Yemen bagged their first ever win in the competition against Group B winners, Bahrain.

After an edgy 53 minutes at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in Al Ardiya, Kuwait, the match burst into life when VAR instructed the referee to go to his monitor and he awarded a penalty to Saudi Arabia for handball. Captain Salem Al Dawsari made no mistake from the spot to put his side 1-0 up.

But just when Saudi appeared to be turning the screw, Iraq levelled through Mohanad Ali in the 63rd minute to silence the large Saudi contingent.

Saudi Arabia, who will host the next edition of the Cup in 2026, only needed a draw to secure their last four place, and when substitute Al Hamdan cut in from the right in the 81st minute to fire a sublime left foot shot into the top corner to put them 2-1 ahead, Iraq’s hopes of retaining their title faded.

And as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser, Al Dawsari broke into the Iraq half and delivered on a plate for supersub Al Hamdan to make it 3-1 with just five minutes left.