An 86th minute strike from Ahmed Khalil was all that separated the UAE Olympic team and Saudi Arabia in Group B of the U-23 Gulf Cup
- By Ashley Mark Hammond, Staff Reporter
- Published: 09:39 July 31, 2010
- UAE's Ahmad Khalil (centre) scored the winner against Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the Under-23 Gulf Cup at the Aspire Stadium in Doha on Friday.
- Image Credit: Gulf News archive
Dubai: The UAE Olympic team beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in their opening game of the U-23 Gulf Cup at the Aspire Stadium in Doha, Qatar, last night.
An 86th minute strike from Ahmed Khalil was all that separated the two sides in Group B of the tournament, which features teams from all six GCC states.
Prior to the game, Coach Mehdi Ali had stressed the importance of getting off to a good start in the tournament in order to secure promotion to the second round. He had expected a tough game.
Used as preparation for the Asian Games and Olympic Games; coaches of senior squads will also pay close attention to the ongoing tournament in order to draft players ahead of November's Gulf Cup in Yemen.
The fate of defending champions Saudi is now to be decided on the UAE's result over Kuwait on Sunday (August 1), after Saudi could only manage a 1-1 draw in last Wednesday’s match.
Meanwhile In Group A, Oman is through to the second round after two consecutive 2-0 wins over Qatar and Bahrain.
Groups
A
Oman
Bahrain
Qatar
B
UAE
Kuwait
Saudi
Results
July 28
Qatar 0-2 Oman
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Kuwait
July 30
Bahrain 0-2 Oman
Saudi Arabia 0-1 UAE
Fixtures
August 1
Kuwait – UAE
Qatar – Bahrain
Semi Final
August 4
Oman – GB2
GB1 – GA2
An 86th minute strike from Ahmed Khalil was all that separated the two sides in Group B of the tournament, which features teams from all six GCC states.
Prior to the game, Coach Mehdi Ali had stressed the importance of getting off to a good start in the tournament in order to secure promotion to the second round. He had expected a tough game.
Used as preparation for the Asian Games and Olympic Games; coaches of senior squads will also pay close attention to the ongoing tournament in order to draft players ahead of November's Gulf Cup in Yemen.
The fate of defending champions Saudi is now to be decided on the UAE's result over Kuwait on Sunday (August 1), after Saudi could only manage a 1-1 draw in last Wednesday’s match.
Meanwhile In Group A, Oman is through to the second round after two consecutive 2-0 wins over Qatar and Bahrain.
Groups
A
Oman
Bahrain
Qatar
B
UAE
Kuwait
Saudi
Results
July 28
Qatar 0-2 Oman
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Kuwait
July 30
Bahrain 0-2 Oman
Saudi Arabia 0-1 UAE
Fixtures
August 1
Kuwait – UAE
Qatar – Bahrain
Semi Final
August 4
Oman – GB2
GB1 – GA2
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