The Bahraini national football team caught up with its Omani counterpart in the 26th Gulf Final, beating the host Kuwaiti national team, 1-0, in the match that brought them together this evening at Jaber International Stadium, in the semi-finals.

The only goal was scored by Mohamed Marhoon in the 75th minute.

The Kuwaiti team, supported by fifty thousand spectators, was unable to reach Ibrahim Khalil Allah’s goal, despite the Bahraini team’s numerical deficiency, after the red card was shown to Mehdi Hassan in the “51st minute” by Romanian referee Kovac Istanbul.

In the first half, the Bahraini team succeeded greatly in absorbing the enthusiasm of the hosts, the Kuwaiti team, and achieving the advantage in most periods thanks to the movements of the midfielders Kamil Al-Aswad, Muhammad Marhoon, Al-Sayyid Diaa, and also Mahdi Humaidan. On the other hand, Al-Azraq was able to stop the Bahraini tide thanks to the narrowing of the spaces. And relying on counterattacks.

Kuwait coach Pizzi pushed Youssef Nasser into the blue attack, assisted by Muhammad Dahham, Moaz Al-Asmaa, and Mubarak Al-Fanini from midfield, and from the depth Sultan Al-Anazi and Reda Hani, in addition to the presence of 4 defenders Khaled Ibrahim, Mishari Ghannam, Fahd Al-Hajri, and Hamad. Harbi, and behind them is the guard Khaled Al-Rashidi.

Al-Azraq posed a threat in terms of possession and presence in Bahrain’s defensive areas, thanks to the runs of Muhammad Daham and Moaz Al-Asma, but without achieving the required threat to goalkeeper Ibrahim Khalil Allah.

With the passage of the first quarter of an hour, the battalion of the Croatian coach Talajic was able to advance to the areas of Azraq, and Muhammad Marhoon, Mahdi Hassan, and Kamil Al-Aswad succeeded in launching many dangerous attacks on the goalkeeper Al-Rashidi.

Marhoon almost scored the first goal in the 35th minute, after Mahdi Hassan advanced against goalkeeper Al-Rashidi, who blocked the ball and reached Marhoon's head, who shot it towards the net, but the ground opened for Fahd Al-Hajri to save the situation.

Bahrain's attacks and control continued, amid a successful response from Al-Azraq's defenses and goalkeeper Al-Rashidi, ending the first half in a goalless draw.

In the second half, Kuwaiti coach Pizzi intervened with early substitutions by introducing Eid Al-Rashidi and Salman Al-Awadi, at the expense of Moaz Al-Asmaa and Mubarak Al-Fanini, which improved Maroud Al-Azraq’s ability to attack.

On the other hand, the Bahraini team, despite a strong start with a shot by Mohammed Marhoon cleared by the crossbar, received a shock in the 51st minute, after Romanian referee Kovac Stefan showed the red card to Mehdi Hassan, so the Reds continued the match with ten players.

The homeowners benefited from the numerical deficiency of the Bahraini team, the state of confusion that befell the Al-Ahmar players, and Salman Al-Awadhi posed an extreme threat to Khalil Allah’s goal, but without reaching the net.

Contrary to the course of the match, the Bahraini team was able to score the lead goal in the 75th minute, through Mohammed Marhoon, who took advantage of the wrong positioning of the Kuwaiti players, and a hasty exit by goalkeeper Khaled Al-Rashidi, to score the lead goal.

Kuwait tried to return to the match and intensify the offensive pressure, and had more than one opportunity, especially for Eid Al-Rashidi, but to no avail.

Pizzi made an attacking substitution by bringing in Ali Khalaf at the expense of Reda Hani, and also by bringing in Al-Dosari instead of Fahd Al-Hajri, but the Bahraini net continued to be difficult for the Al-Azraq players, so the match ended with the Bahraini Reds winning and advancing to the final round against the Omani national team, next Saturday.