Historic victory for Yemen over Bahrain

Yemen concluded its participation in Gulf Cup 27 with an unprecedented, historic moral victory over Bahrain, the defending champions, by a score of 5-2 yesterday at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, in the final match of Group B. Yemen’s goals were scored by Nasser Mohammed (18th minute), Abdulwasea Al-Mutairi (31st), Rami Al-Wasmi (40th and 90+6th), and Adel Abbas (44th). Bahrain’s goals were scored by Ali Al-Dosari (6th) and Ali Madan (67th).

The Yemeni national team achieved a historic milestone by scoring five goals in a single match for the first time in its Gulf Cup history. Yemen had previously entered the tournament’s record books at the expense of Bahrain in Gulf Cup 26 in Kuwait, where it secured its first-ever victory in the competition with a 2-1 win.

Despite the win, Yemen was eliminated from the tournament alongside Bahrain. Yemen finished third in the group with three points, while Bahrain ended at the bottom of the standings with no points.

Bahrain opened the scoring early following a defensive error by Rami Al-Wasmi, who gifted the ball to Ali Al-Dosari. Al-Dosari then beat goalkeeper Mohammed Aman and scored into an empty net (6th minute). However, Yemen responded strongly, scoring four consecutive goals before halftime.

Nasser Mohammed equalized after receiving a long pass from Adel Abbas. He maneuvered past Bahrain’s defense, led by Sayed Mehdi Baqer, and placed the ball to the right of goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Gharbawi (18th minute). Abdulwasea Al-Mutairi then added Yemen’s lead from a corner kick taken by Abbas, which Al-Mutairi headed into the far corner (31st minute).

Abbas continued his impressive performance, delivering a precise pass to Rami Al-Wasmi, who arrived from behind to exploit Bahrain’s disorganized defense. Al-Wasmi shot the ball into the net, extending Yemen’s lead to 3-1 (40th minute). Before halftime, Abbas capped off his standout display by scoring Yemen’s fourth goal. After receiving a pass from Nawaf Abdullah, he penetrated the penalty area and fired a powerful shot into Bahrain’s goal (44th minute).

In the second half, Bahrain attempted to get back into the match. Their Croatian coach, Dragan Talajic, made several changes to energize the midfield and attack, bringing on Kamel Al-Aswad, Ali Madan, Mehdi Hamidan, Mohammed Marhoon, and Vincent Emmanuel. Bahrain reduced the deficit when Mohammed Marhoon passed to Ali Madan, who shot past Mohammed Aman (67th minute).

As Bahrain searched for opportunities to narrow the gap, Al-Wasmi scored Yemen’s fifth goal in stoppage time. He received a precise, unmarked pass from the outstanding Abbas and calmly finished into the empty net (90+6th minute).