Gulf Cup 27: Qatar Beat Yemen 1-0 to Move Closer to Semi-Finals

Qatar defeated Yemen 1-0 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Saturday to record their second consecutive victory in Group B of the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup, currently underway in Jeddah.

Yusuf Abdurisag scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute as Qatar moved to six points at the top of the group, provisionally three points clear of the United Arab Emirates, who face Bahrain later in the same round.

The result leaves Qatar within touching distance of a place in the semi-finals.

For Yemen, the defeat was their second in a row, leaving them bottom of the group without a point. Their hopes of progressing have ended regardless of their final group-stage match against Bahrain.

Qatar started strongly and pushed for an early breakthrough. They came close inside the opening four minutes when Akram Afif found himself through on goal following a pass from Abdurisag, but Yemen goalkeeper Mohammed Aman produced an important save.

Despite Yemen dropping most of their players deep behind the ball, Qatar continued to create opportunities. Hassan Al Haydos unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the penalty area in the 11th minute, but Aman was again equal to it.

Afif then missed two further chances after finding himself in promising positions. The first came in the 19th minute from an Al Haydos pass, while the second followed a cross from Homam Al Amin in the 23rd minute. On both occasions, Aman made fine saves to keep Yemen's goal intact.

Yemen showed greater attacking intent towards the end of the first half and created their first meaningful threat in the 39th minute, when Abdulwasea Al Matari's low shot was comfortably dealt with by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abu Nada.

Qatar missed another opportunity in first-half stoppage time when Abdurisag broke into the area but fired over the crossbar in the second minute of added time, sending the teams into the interval level at 0-0.

Qatar resumed the second half with the same attacking intensity and nearly opened the scoring in the 47th minute. Pedro Miguel delivered a cross that Abdurisag redirected towards goal, but Aman once again intervened to clear the danger.

Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui responded by introducing Edmilson Junior and Ahmed Alaa as Qatar increased the pressure in search of a breakthrough.

The goal finally arrived in the 64th minute. Edmilson delivered a cross into the area, which found Abdurisag, and the forward made no mistake from close range to put Qatar ahead.

Qatar were awarded a penalty in the 73rd minute after Pedro Miguel was brought down by Yemen defender Hamza Mohammed. However, Afif's spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Aman, who continued his outstanding performance.

The missed penalty gave Yemen renewed confidence and prompted them to push forward in search of an equaliser. Substitute Nasser Mohammedou came close in the 84th minute, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

Qatar held firm during the closing stages to secure a 1-0 victory and move closer to qualification for the semi-finals from Group B. (QNA)

Source: QNA

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