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Saudi Arabia and Kuwait eliminate UAE and Iraq to go into GCC final match

The UAE Senor National Football Team were eliminated from the ongoing GCC Tournament  held in Yemen after  they lost their semifinals match to Saudi Arabia by a solitary goal in the match played on Thursday December 2 at 22 May Stadium in Aden. Ahmad Abbas scored the all-important goal of the game in the 55th minute when he found himself clear with only the goalkeeper Majid Nasr to beat as a result of a defensive error. He did not hesitate to drive the ball home giving his side a deserved 1-0 lead. The first session was marred by male display as both teams failed to demonstrate brilliant performance and create dangerous attacks to end the first half with a goalless draw. But they recovered after the break to play a balanced game that full of hard work and tactics. The Saudi Arabia squad came close to add the second goal in many occasions after controlling the midfield zone. Their midfielder Mohammed Al Shalhob sent a fierce volley in the 76th minutes but it was deflected by Majid Nasir to a corner and the upright deprived his teammate Mohand Aseri to add the second goal. Abdul Latif Al Ghanam was to make 2-0 but Majid Nasir saved his shot brilliantly. Subait Khatir also made some attempts off stand balls but they all missed the target.

The Saudi team will face their counterparts, Kuwait, in the final game due to kick off on Sunday December 6 to determine the champions of the 20th GCC Tournament.

Kuwait National Team surprised their rivals Iraq with a sudden goal when Badr Al Mutawah found the back of the net only 29 seconds into the game. This early lead did not affect the performance of the Iraqi players who continued their attacks with great concentration looking for the equalizer and soon their efforts were paid dividends when Hawar Mulla sent a fierce shot off a stand ball that touched one of the Kuwaiti defenders and changed its direction into the net in the sixth minute. It was the first goal conceded by the Kuwaiti custodian Nawaf Al Khaldi since the start of the tournament. Alaa Abdul Zahra of Iraq drove the ball home with a perfect header eight minutes later capitalizing on the ball switched by Hawar Mulla from the right flank and rebounded off the goalkeeper to make it 2-1. In spite of creating a number of chances, both teams could not score more goals in the rest of the session that ended with a 2-1 lead for Iraq who missed the efforts of their first choice striker Younis Mahmoud after collecting two yellow cards.

The Kuwaiti squad recovered after the break to level the score through Fahd Al Anzy in the 58th minute. The two teams failed to score afterwards to end the official time with a 2-2 draw before going into the extra time and then resort to the penalty shootout. The Kuwaiti players scored five penalty kicks and lost only one whereas the Iraqis netted four and squandered twice.