The UAE national team secured its spot in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup “Gulf 27,” held in Jeddah.
The qualification came after a 3-0 win over defending champions Bahrain on Sunday, in the second round of Group Two matches.
Othman Kamara opened the scoring for the UAE in the 30th minute, giving his team the lead before the end of the first half.
In the second half, Guilherme Bala doubled the lead with the second goal in the 66th minute, before Ali Saleh completed the 3-0 scoreline in the 88th minute.
With this win, the UAE, led by Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic, raised its tally to 6 points, topping the group on goal difference over Qatar.
Qatar’s national team had earlier beaten Yemen 1-0 on the same day, also raising its tally to 6 points.
As a result, both teams officially secured their qualification for the semifinals ahead of the final round.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s national team was eliminated from the tournament at the group stage, after suffering its second consecutive loss and remaining pointless.
Yemen also lost its chance to qualify, making its upcoming match against Bahrain irrelevant to the race for the two semifinal spots.
Attention now turns to the clash between the UAE and Qatar in the third round, where the two teams will compete for the group’s top spot before the decisive rounds begin.
