MANAMA: Iraq will play the United Arab Emirates in the final of the Gulf Cup after two thrilling semi-finals on Tuesday.
Iraq shattered hosts Bahrain’s hopes of a maiden Gulf Cup title with a dramatic 4-2 victory in a penalty shootout after extra time ended 1-1.
And Ahmad Khalil was the Emirati hero as he scored a last-gasp goal to guide his team to a 1-0 victory over defending champions Kuwait.
The hero for Iraq was goalkeeper Noor Sabri, who not only saved two shots in the penalty shootout but also converted the winning spot kick to trigger wild celebrations among a large expatriate Iraqi crowd at the National Stadium in Riffa.
In the penalty shootout, Sabri saved penalties from Bahrain captain Mohammed Hussain and Abdulwahab Al-Malood while Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer fended off Iraq’s first penalty taken by Ahmed Yasin.
Dhirgham Ismail, Waleem Salem and Younes Khalaf were on target with the other penalties for Iraq while Faozi Ayish and Sayed Dhiya scored for Bahrain.
Earlier, captain and lone striker Khalaf scored what looked like a Iraqi match-winner in the 18th minute, latching on to a through pass from Hammadi Ahmed in the penalty area and successfully shaking off his marker Abdulla Al-Marzooqi and beating goalkeeper Jaffer with a low shot which went in off the far post.
Veteran defender Hussain Ali Baba produced the Bahrain equalizer in the 61st minute. His free kick from about 20 meters away from the penalty area shot off like a guided missile over the Iraqi wall and curled into the left top corner of the goal, eluding a diving Sabri.
It was undefeated Iraq’s first goal conceded in this championship.
If that was not enough drama, the all-important goal that saw the UAE through to Friday’s final came seconds into the final minute of regular time when the never-say-die Omar Abdulrahman initiated a move inches outside the penalty area on the left and sent Abdulaziz Sanqor through with a well-timed diagonal pass.
Sanqor did well to beat his marker Mohammed Frieh and send a cross past the face of the goal to Khalil, who jabbed the ball low and to the right of Kuwait goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Khaldi.
It was Khalil’s third goal of the championships and the UAE stands, packed with fans especially flown in by 21 chartered planes, went wild.
The first semi-final was a match of two equal halves with the UAE dominating the first and 11-time champions Kuwait the second.
Both teams came close to scoring, with the UAE’s best chance coming in the 60th minute when a long-range free-kick by Khamis Ismael struck the crossbar and bounced back twice off the shoulder of Kuwait goalkeeper Khaldi.
Nine minutes later it was a close shave for Khaldi’s Emirati counterpart Ali Khaseif as Fahad Al-Ansari, Bader Al-Mutwa and Hussain Hakem all had their close shots saved, the Emirati defense just managing to scramble the ball clear.
Kuwait had another chance in the 86th minute when second-half substitute Fahad Al-Enezi covered the length of the ground but could not shake off his markers and his move went abegging.
But the UAE and Khalil’s patience and perseverance paid off in the final minute, however, a just reward for a team mainly made up of players who took part in the 2012 London Games.
Iraq to play UAE in Gulf Cup final
Iraq to play UAE in Gulf Cup final
Canada’s Lee sets pace, Kim in the hunt for LIV Golf wild card spots
- LIV Golf Promotions in Florida offers top 3 finishers a chance to play in 2026 regular season
LECANTO: Canada’s Richard T. Lee has proved the player to watch during the first three days at LIV Golf Promotions and is now well-placed for a wild-card spot in the 2026 LIV Golf season.
Anthony Kim, meanwhile, found another gear on the back nine on Saturday, putting him in a better position to return to full-time status in the league.
The final 18 holes of the 36-hole shootout at Black Diamond Ranch take place on Sunday with a potentially career-changing reward for the top three finishers — guaranteed LIV Golf wild-card status for 2026. In addition, the top 10 and ties earn exemptions into the Asian Tour’s International Series.
For the second time this week, Lee led the field with a bogey-free 6-under 64. The 35-year-old will take a two-shot lead over his closest pursuers going into Sunday, giving him a significant advantage. However, he does not plan to take his foot off the gas.
“Honestly, I don’t think it would be comfortable for any player to have a two-shot lead on the last day,” said Lee, who has two eagles, 13 birdies and just one bogey in his 54 competitive holes this week. “I’ll just put my hat on and just play my golf.”
Kim is among three players who are tied for second after shooting a bogey-free 4-under 66, along with South Africa’s Oliver Bekker and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond. Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard is solo fifth after his 3-under 67, with five other players lurking at 1 under.
Kim, who played as a wild card in the past two seasons following his return to competitive golf after a 12-year retirement, was just 1 under through 12 holes on Saturday. But he made consecutive lengthy birdie putts at the 13th and 14th holes, birdied the par-5 16th, then saved par with a 15-footer at the par-4 18th that circled the cup before dropping.
“I have an opportunity to get one of those spots,” said the 40-year-old, the only American to advance to the weekend. “That’s what I asked for coming into this week and put myself in a good position. Now I’ve just got to go finish.”
Kim would not be in this position had he not made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th on Friday to make the cut on the number.
“I knew that if I didn’t make birdie on 18 [Friday] that my chances of playing on LIV next year were gone, and to me that’s a big deal,” Kim said. “I’d like to play at the highest level against the best players. It meant a lot to me.”
Bekker was part of LIV Golf’s inaugural field at the 2022 London tournament. Four seasons later, he’s excited about the opportunity to return to the league as a full-time member.
“Thinking back on it now, I had the opportunity to play a few more events, and now I’m like, well, maybe I should have played them,” he said. “The water was a bit rough at that stage and didn’t know what was going to happen, so I played it a bit safe. Luckily, I’ve been given another opportunity this week, and hopefully I can take it.”
Janewattananond won four tournaments in 2019 when he became a top 50 world player and, aged 30, still has years left in his competitive career. After shooting a second-round 67 to advance to the weekend, he shot a 66 on Saturday that included four birdies in a six-hole stretch to end his front nine.
“It’s a very big prize at the end of the day,” he said. “Those three spots up for grabs, it would give me freedom to play wherever I want and security for my family.”
The 34-year-old Bjerregaard, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, said earning full-time LIV Golf status would be career-changing.
“Where I am in my career right now, it’s probably that or retirement,” he said. “Yeah, that would mean a lot for sure.”
Although nothing is guaranteed, Lee has played so well this week that there may be just two spots available for the remainder of the field.
“We’re not playing for one spot,” said Janewattananond. “I don’t have to worry about him. I just have to worry about myself.”
“He played great today,” added Bjerregaard, playing in the same group as Lee on Saturday. “But I would be happy with any of the other two spots, so that’s fine. I can finish third. I wouldn’t mind.”
