The Oman national team joined its Iraqi counterpart in the final of the Arab Gulf Cup for Football "Gulf 25" after defeating Bahrain - the defending champion - with a goal without a response in the second semi-final of the tournament held in the city of Basra.
The Omani national team owes victory to its player Jamil Al-Yahmadi, who scored the only goal in the 83rd minute with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.
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The team # Oman advanced 1-0 against the team # Bahrain via Jamil Al-Ahmadi in the 83rd minute # Al-Kass_Channels pic.twitter.com/nReBm6L3s8
- Al-Kass channels (@alkasschannel) January 16, 2023
The final match will be held next Thursday at the Basra International Stadium, and Iraq reached the final match by defeating Qatar 2-1 in the presence of a large audience.
The meeting between Iraq and Oman will be renewed after they were in the first group, and their confrontation ended in a goalless draw at the opening of the tournament.
Oman, led by Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic, relied on organized defense and counter-attacks.
This appeared early in the 11th minute, when Salah Al Yahyai launched from the right side, and passed the ball to Al Subhi, who shot from close range, but Bahrain's defense intervened at the right time.
And Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini, Oman goalkeeper, saved Mahdi Faisal's shot from inside the penalty area in the 22nd minute.
The Omani players demanded a penalty kick after Abdul-Wahhab Al-Maloud interfered with Al-Mundhir Rabih Al-Alawi, but the assistant video referee (Var) proved the correctness of the referee's decision after a violation was awarded to the Bahraini player in the 61st minute.
The decisive moment came in the 83rd minute, when the ball reached Al-Yahyaei at the borders of the penalty area, but he preferred to pass it to Al-Yahmadi.
Al-Yahmadi did not hesitate and hit an amazing ball to advance Oman to the final for the fifth time in its history.