Saudi Arabia overcame their losing streak against Oman with a last-gasp 2-1 win in the Gulf derby at the Khalifa Stadium on Tuesday in Group Six of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
In front of 42,000 spectators, Abdul Rahman Gharib (78) and Ali Al-Bulaihi (90 + 7) scored for Saudi Arabia, and Salah Al-Yahyayi (14 penalty kick) scored for Oman.
In the same group, Thailand beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 to top Saudi Arabia on goal difference.
The three-time title-winning Saudi national team, most recently in 1996, entered the tournament in an embarrassing situation after a crisis broke out between the players excluded from the “Green Falcons” squad and Italian coach Roberto Mancini.
After the chaos that ruled out Al-Nasr's conceptual goalkeeper, whom Mancini had relied on for most of the Tests before the start of the match, everyone was waiting for the identity of the main goalkeeper standing between the three sticks. The choice fell on Ahmad al-Qassar.
The focus was on the Saudi national team led by Mancini, and after assuming his position last August, French player Herve Renard became the coach of his country's women's national team, especially since “Al-Akhtar” did not give a good performance in his trial. Tournaments under the supervision of Mancini, who led his country to the European Cup in the summer. The year is 2021.
The competition was between the Saudi team with a long history in the continental championship, while the Omani team had no identity.
Overall, despite Oman's defensive discipline, the Saudis deserved to win, and their personnel performed magnificently.
