November 27 – If the Qataris needed a confidence boost from the scrutiny of their credentials for staging the 2022 World Cup in the wake of Michael Garcia’s bid investigation report, they delivered it on the field when their players struck a significant blow for progress.
Qatar stunned Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Wednesday’s Gulf Cup final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, coming from behind to win their third title but their first for 10 years and their first outside of their own country.
The win by the senior team means Qatar has won its second international championship in the past month. The U19 team won the AFC Championship, its first regional title, in Myanmar at the end of October.
The Gulf Cup may not have the same profile of other championships on the international circuit but it was a huge deal for Qatar and thousands of fans poured on to the streets after victory over the hotly-fancied Saudi hosts who had only lost two of the 19 previous encounters between the sides.
Saud Kariri opened the scoring for Saudi Arabia after 16 minutes but Qatar replied with a magnificent header from defender Al Mahdi Ali two minutes later. Algerian-born Khoukhi Boualem then struck the winner in the 58th minute.
Although the tournament was restricted to low-ranked Gulf nations, some of them had appeared on the World Cup stage before and Qatar’s victory will do much to enhance their credibility as a growing footballing nation despite criticism about their lack of pedigree.
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