October 7, 2026
The Saudi national team was crowned champion of the 27th Gulf Cup Football Championship, after defeating its Emirati counterpart with two unanswered goals in the final match held on Tuesday, adding the fourth title to its coffers and its first since 2004.
Amid massive crowd support at home, the Saudi national team imposed early control and opened the scoring in the 11th minute through player Hammam Al-Hammami with a shot that changed direction before landing in the net.
“Al-Akhdar” did not give its guests a chance to catch a breath, as Firas Al-Braikan increased the lead of coach Georgios Donis’ squad by scoring the second goal after only two minutes with a perfect shot from inside the penalty area.
Saleh Abu Al-Shamat almost expanded the fire by scoring the third goal following a complete isolation from Emirati goalkeeper Khaled Issa, but his shot hit the right post. The 38th minute witnessed great excitement when the referee of the match awarded a penalty kick to the Emirati team after Bruno was obstructed by Hassan Timbukti, before returning and canceling the decision after referring to the video assistant technology (VAR).
In the second half, the Saudi team succeeded in managing the remaining minutes of the match and maintaining a clean sheet and superiority until the final whistle, achieving the Gulf title, while the UAE team was satisfied with the runner-up position.
