'The Blue' faces Oman... and Saudi Arabia seeks a clean sweep against Iraq

Our national football team will conclude its participation in the 27th Gulf Cup (Gulf 27) when it faces its Omani counterpart at 8:30 p.m. at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, the host city of the tournament. This is the third and final match of Group A. The group stage also features another match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq at the same time at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium (Al-Inma’ Stadium). The Blue Team enters today’s match seeking a moral victory to conclude its tournament campaign, having played its previous two matches against Saudi Arabia and Iraq without securing a win. Meanwhile, Oman is seeking a win to keep its hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive, a scenario that will also depend on the outcome of the Saudi Arabia-Iraq match. Oman needs to win by a margin of more than one goal, while Iraq must lose by a margin of more than three goals.

Coach Helio Sousa is expected to make some changes to the lineup. The only absentee for the Blue Team will be Abdulwahab Al-Awadi, who was sent off in the final minutes of the Iraq match. On the other side, Moroccan coach Tariq Al-Skeiti is expected to make attacking changes to Oman’s starting lineup given his team’s need for a win. There is a possibility that Hussein Al-Shahrani and Musab Al-Muamer will start from the beginning, having come on as substitutes in the previous match against Saudi Arabia.

Oman’s Red Team currently has one point from its 1-1 draw with Iraq in the opening round, before losing 3-0 to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it needs to defeat Kuwait and await the result of the Saudi Arabia-Iraq match to determine its final qualification status. Meanwhile, Kuwait has been eliminated from contention after losing 1-0 to Saudi Arabia and 3-2 to Iraq. Oman is looking to regain its balance after the heavy defeat to Saudi Arabia, a match the hosts won with three goals in the first half. Although Oman created some chances in the second half, it failed to score.

Head-to-head history gives a clear advantage to Oman, which has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the two teams since 2009, compared to one win for Kuwait, with two matches ending in draws.

In the second match of the day, Saudi Arabia and Iraq will face each other in a contest that will decide the winner of Group A. Saudi Arabia has already secured its place in the semi-finals, while Iraq is striving to secure its qualification and avoid complicated scenarios. A win would give the Saudi team a perfect record of three consecutive victories. Saudi Arabia tops the group with six points from two wins against Kuwait and Oman. Iraq sits in second place with four points, after drawing with Oman and securing a dramatic 3-2 win over Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia needs only a draw to guarantee top spot in the group. A draw would also be sufficient for Iraq to reach the semi-finals, but only a win would allow them to take the group title. The Saudi team started the tournament strongly, winning two consecutive matches without conceding a goal, the latest being a 3-0 victory over Oman, decided by three first-half goals. Firas Al-Buraikan scored two goals, and Hassan Kadesh added one.

Iraq enters the match with four points, having drawn 1-1 with Oman in the opening round and secured a hard-fought win against the Blue Team in the second match. The match carries a historical record that favors Iraq. The two teams have met 38 times in various competitions, with Iraq winning 17 matches compared to 11 for Saudi Arabia, and 10 matches ending in draws. Iraq has scored 56 goals compared to Saudi Arabia’s 34. However, recent encounters favor Saudi Arabia, which defeated Iraq 3-1 in the previous Gulf Cup. Their last meeting in the World Cup qualifiers, held in Jeddah in October 2025, ended in a goalless draw, a result that secured Saudi Arabia’s qualification for the World Cup.