Naif Muhammad Saudi Gazette MANAMA — Kuwait knocked Saudi Arabia out of the Gulf Cup Saturday, beating the Greens 1-0 to secure a place in the semifinals in the region's premier tournament. Yousef Naser Al-Sulaiman's strike in the 13th minute was enough for Kuwait, which only needed a draw to advance. Al-Sulaiman shrugged off defender Osama Al-Muwallad and slotted home the winner. Saudi Arabia earlier started briskly, playing with an attacking formation, and controlled the midfield almost throughout the match. The Kingdom pushed hard for two goals, since it needed a win to advance, and came close to leveling the game on more than one occasion but without success. Saudi coach Frank Rijkaard, looking for a goal, brought in midfielder Naser Al-Shamrani in place of a defender. Al-Shamrani almost got one, but the Kuwaiti keeper saved his shot off a rebound. Saudi midfielder Tayseer Al-Jasem also came close to scoring a goal near the end but his shot went wide. Iraq, which had already qualified in Group B, beat Yemen 2-0 to remain unbeaten. Kuwait will face the UAE in the semifinals, while Iraq will meet Bahrain. The loss comes almost a year after the Saudi side failed to advance in 2014 World Cup qualifying. The UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, meanwhile, gave directives to operate free flights to carry football fans to Bahrain to support their national team in the semifinal game Tuesday. According to reports Etihad Airways, in cooperation with the UAE Football Federation, will offer over 872 seats from a total of 1,400 seats from four locations to carry supporters from the UAE to Bahrain and back on the day of the match. Flights will depart from Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Dubai and Sharjah.
