Final Tournament in Qatar
Group 1
22- 9-1998 Qatar 2-1 Libya
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 20.000 Sp.
Scorers: QAT: Adel Khamis (44'), Mubarak Mustapha (49').
Libya: Khaled Ramadan (43').
Referee: Mr. Mohamed Koussa (Syria).
Linesmen: Mr. Yazbek Yazbek (Lebanon), Malek Hassan (Sultanate of Oman).
Cautions: QAT: Abdulrahman Al-Kowari (29'), Abdullah Obaid (59').
LIB.: Khaled Ramadan (17'), Hisham Hussein (38'), Omar Al-Maryami (63').
Qatar: Ahmed Khalil / Abdulrahman Al-Kowari, Dhi Al-Noubi, Youssouf Adam,
Abdullah Jassem / Abdullah Obaid (69'. Hamad Mubarak), Saoud Al-Jamman,
Adel Khamis, Ismail Ali (46'. Mubarak Al-Kowari) / Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly,
Mubarak Mustapha (77'. Abdulaziz Hassan).
Libya: Samir Abdulsalam / Walid Adam, Ramzi Abdulsalam (37'. Sas Al-Jebali),
Hisham Hussein, Omar Al-Maryami, Khaled Shebli / Ezzeddine Faraj, Salem Muftah
(46'. Oussama Al-Wahishi), Tareq Al-Taeb / Ahmed Faraj, Khaled Ramadan.
24- 9-1998 Libya 1-2 Jordan
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 4.000 Sp.
Scorers: JRD: Hassouna Al-Sheikh (36'), Ra'afat Ali (64').
LIB: Ahmed Al-Masli (61').
Referee: Mr. Salah Ahmed (Sudan).
Linesmen: Mr. Youssouf Al-Ghattan (Bahrain), Hisham Salah (Egypt).
Cautions: JRD: Haytham Samrin (33'), Amjad Hammad (67').
LIB.: Ezzeddine Faraj (70').
Jordan: Mohamed Abou Dawood / Haytham Samrin, Mohannad Al-Mahadin, Amjad
Hammad, Abdullah Abou Zama'a / Sobhi Suleyman (55'. Abdullah Sultan), Hassouna
Qassem, Haytham Zyab (81'. Leith Dardour), Hatem Mohamed / Badran Al-Shaqran,
Ra'afat Jabr.
Libya: Samir Abdulsalam / Mahmoud Makhlouf (59'. Ramzi Abdulsalam), Omar
Al-Maryami, Khaled Shebli, Walid Adam / Sas Al-Jebali, Mohamed Al-Said (46'.
Khaled Ramadan), Ezzeddine Faraj, Khaled Youssouf / Tareq Al-Taeb (60'. Salem
Muftah), Ahmed Faraj.
26- 9-1998 Qatar 2-0 Jordan
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 20.000 Sp.
Scorers: Mubarak Mustapha (17'), Adel Khamis (69').
Referee: Mr. Qassem Hamza (Kuwait).
Linesmen: Mr. Hisham Salah (Egypt), Mr. Yazbek Yazbek (Lebanon).
Cautions: JRD: Abdullah Abou Zama'a (33').
Qatar: Ahmed Khalil / Abdulrahman Al-Kowari, Youssouf Adam, Abdullah Jassem,
Saoud Fatah / Dahi al-Noubi, Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly, Abdullah Obaid (69'.
Abdulaziz Hassan) / Mubarak Mustapha (79'. Mubarak Al-Kowari), Mahmoud Soufi
(46'. Yasser Nazmi), Adel Khamis.
Jordan: Mohamed Abou Dawood / Mohannad Al-Mahadin, Haytham Samrin, Badran
Al-Shaqran, Haytham Zyab (46'. Leith Drour) / Sobhi Suleyman, Ra'afat Jabr,
Amjad Hammad (78'. Sufyan Abdullah), Abdullah Abou Zama'a (66'. Oussama Talal)
/ Hassouna Youssouf, Hatem Aql.
Final Table:
1.Qatar 2 2 0 0 4- 1 6
2.Jordan 2 1 0 1 2- 3 3
3.Libya 2 0 0 2 2- 4 0
Group 2
22- 9-1998 Egypt Ol. 2-1 Syria
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 15.000 Sp.
Scorers: EGP: Abdullah Rajab (37'), Abdullatif Al-Doumani (44').
SYR: Mahmoud Mahmalji (67').
Referee: Mr. Omar Al-Mehanna (Saudi Arabia).
Linesmen: Mr. Aouni Hassouna (Jordan), Mr. Abdulsalam Naji (Jordan).
Cautions: EGP: Ayman Abdulaziz (40').
SYR: Hassan Abbas (25'), Sayyed Bayazid (61'), Ammar Rihawi (73').
Sent-Off: EGP: Sayyed Abdulhafiz (78').
Egypt: Abdulwahed Al-Sayyed / Ahmed Abdulzaher, Ayman Ramadan, Oussama Ammar,
Ahmed Saleh / Ayman Abdulaziz, Sayyed Abdulhafiz, Abdullah Ragab (84'. Tareq
Al-Saeed), Saeed Abdulaziz / Abdullatif Al-Doumani (77'. Mohamed Farouq), Walid
Salah Abdullatif.
Syria: Abdulfattah Abdulqader / Hassan Abbas, Jihad Qassab, Tareq Jabban,
Hossam Al-Sayyed / Abdulqader Al-Rifayi, Jamal Kazem (46'. Fadi Afash; 70'.
Salim Jabalawi), Ammar Rihawi, Nouhad Al-Boushi (57'. Ahmed Azzam) / Sayyed
Bayazid, Mahmoud Mahmalji.
24- 9-1998 Egypt Ol. 1-4 Kuwait
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 15.000 Sp.
Scorers: KUW: Jassem Al-Howaidi (4'), Jamal Mubarak (19'), Badr Hajji (85' pen.), Bashar Abdullah (90').
EGP: Abdullatif Al-Doumani (25').
Referee: Mr. Hisham Qirat (Tunisia).
Linesmen: Mr. Yazbek Yazbek (Lebanon), Mr. Aouni Hassouna (Jordan).
Cautions: KUW: Khaled Al-Fadhli (15'), Issam Sakin (44'), Jassem Al-Howaidi (73').
EGP.: Ahmed Abdulzaher (33'), Ayman Ramadan (69').
Sent-Off: KUW: Oussama Hussein (75').
EGP.: Abdullah Ragab (79').
Kuwait: Khaled Al-Fadhli / Oussama Hussein Al-Khodari, Nasser Al-Amran (46'.
Adel Youssouf), Nhayyem Al-Shemmari, Jamal Mubarak / Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit,
Badr Hajji, Faraj Saeed Lahib ( 77'. Ali Abdulridha), Ahmed Al-Mtiri /
Jassem Al-Howaidi (76'. Bashar Abdullah), Issam Sakin.
Egypt: Abdulwahed Al-Sayyed / Ahmed Abdulzaher, Ayman Ramadan, Oussama Amara
(55'. Saif Dawood), Ahmed Saleh / Sayyed Abdulhafiz, Ayman Abdulaziz, Abdullah
Ragab, Saeed Abdulaziz / Walid Salah Abdullatif (69'. Mohamed Farouq),
Abdullatif Al-Doumani.
26- 9-1998 Kuwait 4-0 Syria
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 7.000 Sp.
Scorers: Jassem Al-Howaidi (10'), Bashar Abdullah (23'), Hamad Al-Saleh (35'), Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (57').
Referee: Mr. Salah Ahmed (Sudan).
Linesmen: Mr. Khamis Ballan (Qatar), Mr. Aouni Hassouna (Jordan).
Cautions: KUW: Issam Sakin (57').
Kuwait: Khaled Al-Fadhli (46'. Ahmed Jassem) / Oussama Hussein Al-Khodari,
Adel Youssouf, Nhayyem Al-Shemmari, Jamal Mubarak / Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit,
Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Issam Sakin, Badr Hajji (78'. Hani Al-Saqr) / Jassem Al-Howaidi
(29'. Hamad Al-Saleh), Bashar Abdullah.
Syria: Salem Bitar (36'. Abdulfattah Abdulqader) / Hassan Abbas, Jihad Qassab
(46'. Khaled Aryan), Tareq Jabban, Hossam Al-Sayyed / Abdulqader Al-Rifayi,
Salim Jabalawi (60'. Ahmed Azzam), Nouhad Al-Boushi, Ammar Rihawi / Sayyed
Bayazid, Mahmoud Mahmalji.
Final Table:
1.Kuwait 2 2 0 0 8- 1 6
2.Egypt Ol. 2 1 0 1 3- 5 3
3.Syria 2 0 0 2 1- 6 0
Group 3
23- 9-1998 Morocco Ol. 1-0 UAE
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 5.000 Sp.
Scorer: Morocco: Hamid Termina (86').
Referee: Mr. Qassem Hamza (Kuwait).
Linesmen: Mr. Abdulsalam Al-Naji (Yemen); Mr. Hisham Salah (Egypt).
Cautions: MOR: Tareq Al-Jarmouni (87').
Sent-Off: MOR: Mohamed Ridha Al-Mokhtari (79').
Morocco: Tareq Al-Jarmouni / Rashid Al-Bawarissi, Abdulaziz Orabi, Hassan
Mokhika (62'. Issam Baroudi), Youssouf Al-Safri / Fawzi Al-Barazi, Abdulfattah
Saad (46'. Hamid Termina), Mohamed Ridha Al-Mokhtari, Hisham Zerwali (66'. Bou
Shoayb Al-Mobaraki) / Tareq Al-Sekwiti, Mohamed Gibran.
UAE: Muhsin Mosabbah / Mohamed Hilal, Ismail Rashed, Fahad Mosabbah, Gharib
Farhan / Hassan Rashed, Abdulsalam Al-Arimi, Mohamed Ali Kasla (53'. Mohamed
Al-Bloushi), Ali Hassan (60'. Khamis Saad) / Jassem Mohamed (74'. Walid Obaid),
Kazem Ali.
25- 9-1998 Morocco Ol. 1-2 Sudan
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 13.000 Sp.
Scorers: SUD: Anas Al-Nour (42';45').
MOR: Tareq Al-Siktiwi (25').
Referee: Mr. Morad Bin Dada (Algeria).
Linesmen: Mr. Youssouf Al-Ghattan (Bahrain), Khamis Ballan (Qatar).
Cautions: SUD: Akef Ata (11'), Al-Sadeq Mohamed (37'), Anas Al-Nour (63').
MOR: Youssouf Al-Safri (28'), Tareq Al-Sektiwi (80').
Sudan: Eissa Haroun / Akef Ata, Al-Amin Yaaqoub, Abdulrahim Barsham, Al-Sadeq
Mohamed / Edward Gildo, Khaled Barsham, Nejmeddine Hassan, Saeed Noumiri (46'.
Jaafar Abdulmajid)/ Anas Al-Nour (64'. Khaled Bakhit), Kamaleddine Hamad.
Morocco: Tareq Al-Jarmouni / Youssouf Al-Safri (55'. Bou Sha'ayb Al-Mubaraki), Khaled Khama, Noureddine Al-Qassimi, Fawzi Barazi / Abdulaziz Al-Orabi, Saad
Abdulfattah, Hamid Termina, Hisham Al-Zerwali (64'. Mustapha Al-Idrissi) /
Mohamed Gibran (79'. Issam Faras),Tareq Al-Sektiwi.
27- 9-1998 UAE 4-1 Sudan
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 15.000 Sp.
Scorers: SUD: Abdulmajid Jaafar (68')
UAE: Hassan Saeed (13'), Mohamed Obaid Hilal (83' pen.; 88' pen.), Ali Hassan (90').
Referee: Mr. Omar Al-Mehanna (Saudi Arabia).
Linesmen: Mr. Othman Bashir (Libya), Malek Hassan (Sultanate of Oman).
Cautions: SUD: Abdullah Yaaqoub (23'), Eissa Haroun (71'), Akef Ata (80').
UAE: Ali Musabbah (36'), Hassan Saeed (59').
Sent-Off: SUD: Abdulrahim Barsham (73'), Edward Gildo (82').
Sudan: Eissa Haroun / Edward Gildo, Akef Ata, Al-Amin Yaaqoub, Abdulrahim
Barsham / Al-Sadeq Abdullah (46'. Ahmed Noumiri), Khaled Bakhit, Nejmeddine
Ahmed, Abdulmajid Ja'afar / Anas Al-Nour, Hamad Kamaleddine.
UAE: Muhsin Musabbah / Hassan Al-Sayyed, Mohamed Obaid, Abdulsalam, Juma'a
(46'. Walid Obaid), Munzir Ali / Mohamed Ibrahim, Hassan Saeed, Ali Hassan,
Kazem Ali / Ali Musabbah, Rashid Hareb.
Final Table:
1.UAE 2 1 0 1 4- 2 3
2.Morocco Ol. 2 1 0 1 2- 2 3
3.Sudan 2 1 0 1 3- 5 3
Group 4
23- 9-1998 Algeria Ol. 0-0 Lebanon
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 5.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Juma'a Al-Ali (Qatar).
Linesmen: Mr. Youssouf Al-Ghattan (Bahrain), Mr. Malek Hassan (Sultanate of Oman).
Cautions: ALG: Ismail Qanat (55').
LEB: Ahmed Noamani (34').
Sent-Off: ALG: Sufian Khayyat (74').
Algeria: Suleyman Wild Mata / Kamaleddine Bou Assida, Moulai Haddou, Kamal
Habri, Khaireddine Madwi / El-Eid Belhamel, Ismail Qanat, Sufian Khayyat,
Zoheir Khadara (46'. Fares Al-Aouni) / Ibrahim Mizwar (70'. Mounsif Wibshawi),
Hussein Azizan.
Lebanon: Ahmed Al-Saqr / Nabih Al-Jurdi (66'. Ridha Antar), Fouad Hijazi,
Daniel Al-A'awar, Kevork Guarabetian / Faysal Antar, Ahmed Noamani, Jamal Taha
/ Walid Dahrouj (72'. Wael Nazha), Wartan Ghazarian (77'. Haytham Zein), Zaher
Al-Andari.
25- 9-1998 Saudi Arabia 3-0 Algeria Ol.
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 10.000 Sp.
Scorers: Obaid Al-Dossari (8';90'), Ibrahim Suwayyed (54').
Referee: Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Mulla (UAE).
Linesmen: Mr. Othman Taissir (Libya), Mr. Malek Hassan (Sultanate of Oman).
Cautions: ALG: Ismail Qanat (13'), Kamal Habri (37'), Hussein Azizan (54'), Khaireddine Madwi (73').
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Ahmed Al-Doukhi, Hussein Abdulghani,
Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi, Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi / Khamis Al-Owairan, Ibrahim
Mater Al-Harbi (46'. Faysal Bouthnein), Nawwaf Al-Temiat (55'. Khaled
Al-Timawi), Youssouf Al-Thnayyan (83'. Saad Al-Dossari) / Obaid Al-Dossari,
Ibrahim Al-Suwayyed.
Algeria: Suleyman Wild Mata / Kamal Habri, Moulai Haddou, Khaireddine Madwi,
Kamaleddine Bou Assida / El-Eid Belhamel, Hussein Azizan (33'. Zoheir Khadara),
Ibrahim Mizwar, Munsifd Wibshawi / Ali Bin Rabka (53'. Fares Al-Aouni), Ismail
Qanat.
27- 9-1998 Saudi Arabia 4-1 Lebanon
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 13.000
Scorers: LEB: Zaher Al-Indari (88').
S.AR.: Obaid Al-Dossari (28';38';77'), Nawwaf Al-Temiat (82').
Referee: Mr. JUMA'A Al-Ali (Qatar).
Linesmen: Mr. Khamis Ballan (Qatar), Mr. Abdulsalam Naji (Yemen).
Cautions: LEB: Abbas Shahrour (43').
Lebanon: Ahmed Al-Saqr / Faysal Antar (46. Abbas Shahrour), Fouad Hijazi,
Daniel Al-A'awar, Kevork Guarabetian / Ahmed Noamani (57'. Wartan Ghazarian),
Jamal Taha, Ridha Antar / Walid Dahrouj, Wael Nazha, Zaher Al-Andari.
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Ahmed Al-Doukhi, Hussein Abdulghani (66'.
Ibrahim Showayeh), Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi, Mohamed Shaliyah Al-Jahni
/Ahmed Al-Dossari, Ibrahim Mater Al-Harbi, Youssouf Al-Thnayyan (63'. Khaled
Al-Timawi), Nawwaf AL-Temiat/ Obaid Al-Dossari, Ibrahim Al-Suwayyed (46'.
Faysal Bouthnein).
Final Table:
1.Saudi Arabia 2 2 0 0 7- 1 6
2.Lebanon 2 0 1 1 1- 4 1
3.Algeria Ol. 2 0 1 1 0- 3 1
Semifinals
29- 9-1998 Saudi Arabia 2-1 Kuwait
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 20.000 Sp.
Scorers: KUW: Adel Youssouf (3').
S.AR.: Youssouf Al-Thunayyan (65'), Khaled Al-Timawi (79').
Referee: Mr. Hisham Qirat (Tunisia).
Linesmen: Mr. Aouni Hassouna (Jordan), Malek Hassan (Sultanate of Oman).
Cautions: KUW: Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (17'), Adel Youssouf (38'), Jamal Mubarak (63').
S.AR: Ahmed Al-Doukhi (42').
Kuwait: Khaled Al-Fadhli / Oussama Hussein Al-Khodari, Nhayyem Al-Shemmari,
Jamal Mubarak, Ahmed Al-Mtiri / Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (74'. Mohamed Al-Briki),
Adel Youssouf, Issam Sakin (82'. Ali Abdulridha), Badr Hajji / Jassem
Al-Howaidi (74'. Hamad Al-Saleh), Bashar Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Ahmed Al-Doukhi (46'. Khaled Al-Timawi),
Hussein Abdulghani, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi, Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi / Ahmed
Khalil, Ibrahim Mater, Khamis Al-Owairan, Nawwaf Al-Temiat (46'. Youssouf
Al-Thnayyan) / Obaid Al-Dossari, Ibrahim Al-Suwayyed (79'. Faysal Bouthnein).
29- 9-1998 Qatar 2-1 UAE
Qassem Bin Hamad St. Doha. 20.000 Sp.
Scorers: QAT: Yasser Nazmi (65'), Mubarak Al-Kowari (75').
UAE: Ali Hassan (60').
Referee: Mr. Mohamed Koussa (Syria).
Linesmen: Mr. Yazbek Yazbek (Lebanon), Mr. Youssouf Al-Ghattan (Bahrain).
Cautions: QAT: Adel Khamis (34').
UAE: Mohamed Obaid (74').
Qatar: Ahmed Khalil / Youssouf Adam, Abdullah Kouni, Abdulrahman Al-Kowari
(46'. Hamad Mubarak), Saoud Fatah / Adel Khamis, Abdulnaser Al-Obaidly, Dahi
Al-Noubi, Abdullah Qassem (36'. Yasser Nazmi) / Mahmoud Al-Soufi (50'. Mubarak
Al-Kowari), Abdullah Obaid.
UAE: Muhsin Musabbah / Hassan Al-Sayyed, Mohamed Obaid, Ismail Rashed,
Abdulsalam Al-Arimi / Hassan Sohail, Mohamed Ibrahim (37'. Walid Al-Bloushi),
Ali Musabbah, Kazem Ali / Mohamed Ali Kasla, Ali Hassan.
Third Place Match
1-10-1998 Kuwait 4-1 UAE
Khalifa International Stadium, Doha. 25.000 Spectators.
Scorers: KUW: Badr Hajji (41' pen.), Bashar Abdullah (67';87';90').
UAE: Mohamed Ali (26').
Referee: Mr. Morad Bin Dada (Algeria).
Linesmen: Mr. Yazbek Yazbek (Lebanon), Mr. Malek Hassan (Sultunate of Oman).
Cautions: KUW: Bashar Abdullah (36'), Oussama Hussein (64').
UAE: Ismail Rashed (16'), Munzir Ali (47'), Mohamed Juma'a (62').
Kuwait: Khaled Al-Fadhli / Oussama Hussein Al-Khodari, Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Nhayyem
Al-Shemmari, Jamal Mubarak / Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit, Adel Youssouf, Badr Hajji
(64'. Faraj Saeed Lahib), Hani Al-Saqr (73'. Issam Sakin) / Ali Marwi Al-Hadiya
(58'. Hamad Al-Saleh), Bashar Abdullah.
UAE: Juma'a Rashed / Abdullah Eissa, Walid Obaid (36'. Abdulsalam Juma'a),
Ismail Rashed, Munzir Ali / Hassan Soheil, Adel Saleh, Mohamed Ali Kasla,
Rashed Hareb (46'. Fahad Ali) / Jassem Al-Doukhi (66'. Kazem Ali), Mohamed
Juma'a.
Final
1-10-1998 Saudi Arabia 3-1 Qatar
Khalifa International Stadium, Doha. 25.000 Spectators.
Scorers: QAT: Mubarak Mustapha (82').
S.AR.: Obaid Al-Dossari (28';49';64').
Referee: Mr. Abdulaziz Hassan (Bahrain).
Linesmen: Mr. Youssouf Al-Ghattan (Bahrain), Mr. Aouni Hassouna (Jordan).
Cautions: QAT: Abdullah Obaid (40'), Youssouf Adam (62').
S.AR: Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi (29'), Khamis Al-Owairan (57').
QATAR: Ahmed Khalil / Saoud Fatah, Youssouf Adam, Dahi Al-Noubi, Abdulrahman
Al-Kowari/ Abdullah Obaid (Abdulaziz Hassan, 58'), Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly,
Adel Khamis, Yasser Nazmi (Fahad Al-Kowari, 60') / Mahmoud Soufi
(Mubarak Al-Kowari, 72'), Mubarak Mustapha.
SAUDI ARABIA: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Hussein Abdulghani, Mohamed Shaiyah Al-Jahani,
Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi / Khamis Al-Owairan,
Kahaled Al-Timawi, Ibrahim Mater Al-Harbi, Saad Al-Dossari (Faysal Abou
Thnein, 55') / Youssouf Al-Thunayyan (Ibrahim Al-Suwayyed, 78'), Obaid
Al-Dossari.
Most Valuable Player: Badr Hajji (Kuwait) and Mubarak Mustapha (UAE).
Top Scorer: Obaid Al-Dossari (Saudi Arabia)..................8 goals.
Best Keeper: Mohamed Al-Deayyea (Saudi Arabia).
Rejuvenated Saudi Arabia finally get a deserved trophy, thanks to their vast
experience in the regional competitions, but firstly for one of the brightest
stars in Asia (the 2nd one will be unveiled later on), 21 year-old Obaid Al-Dossari
who claimed the top scorers spot with 8 goals in 4 games, including a memorable
hat-trick in the final showdown against hosts, Qatar.
The competition lost some leading participating nations, in the shape of
Egypt, Algeria and Morocco who only sent their Olympic sides, due to the National
A squads currently on duty in the African Nations' Cup qualifiers. Saying this,
it was very normal to see all 4 semi-finals tickets grabbed by the Gulf region
teams (hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates), particularly
with the poor showing of other Asian competitors like Syria, Lebanon and Jordan,
and the bad performances by both Libya and Sudan who clearly lack the experience
at the high competition.
Saudi Arabia stormed to a devastating group 4 campaign, thrashing the Olympic
side of Algeria (3-0) with 2 goals by Obaid Al-Dossari and a (4-1) annihilation of
Lebanon (including the first hat-trick by the same Al-Dossari). With only the
leaders of the 4 groups progressing to the semi-finals, the Saudis found a big hurdle
in the shape of Kuwait, who stunned army of Saudi travelling fans with a very early
goal in just the 3rd minute, before veteran playmaker Youssouf Al-Thunayyan and
Khaled Al-Timawi securing both goals midway through the second period. As for the
finals versus the hosts, Qatar, the Saudis were in an unstoppable fashion, Obaid
Al-Dossari sending his side one-goal up at the interval, before adding 2 other
goals after the restart for his second hat-trick in the competition, as the home
side claimed a very late consolation goal in the 82nd minute.
Newly-appointed coach, the German Otto Pfister, was the main winner of this
crucial test: getting for Arabia a trophy badly needed after their disastrous
results, two months ago in the World Cup finals, and consolidating his standing as
the manager of the side for a long term, particularly for the 2000 Asian Cup
qualifying rounds. However, the German will have to face yet another hectic test
later this month, in the shape of the 14th Gulf Cup (they are the current holders
of this trophy), due to be held in Bahrain.
What Mr. Pfister did was quite surprising and audacious, but his tactics
eventually paid off: He stick to the very same defensive line which competed under
the Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira in the recent World Cup (he hadn't any choice
in shaking the defenders' positions {Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi and Abdullah Suleyman
Al-Zubromawi}, and the keeper's one {Mohamed Al-Deayyea}, who already played with
each other since the 1994 World Cup qualifiers-albeit Hussein Abdulghani and Mohamed
Shaliyahwho started in the senior side in 1996.) It was in both midfield and attack
that the manager opted for many changes: Welcoming back the 33 year-old veteran
midfield schemer, Youssouf Al-Thunayyan (instead of the ousted Khaled Massad
Al-Muwallid), and also giving the chance for yet another newcomer, Ibrahim Mater
Al-Harbi to replace former skipper Fuad Anwar Amin, alongside both Khaled Al-Timawi
and 21-year old Saad Al-Dossari (a surprising gifted midfielder with just 3
international matches under his belt before the kick-off of the competition).
Khamis Al-Owairan, so long out of favour during the reign of Parreira get the
confidence of the new German coach, playing just behind the starlet of the
squad, Obaid Al-Dossari.
Qatar, under the reign of Brazilian coach Carlos Kinzaga, didn't impress
with their unpredictable performances, hardly convincing when beating both Libya
(2-1), and Jordan (2-0) in the group 1 first round matches, before ousting the
United Arab Emirates in a narrow scoreline (2-1) after being led (1-0) by the
visiting side.
The UAE, under new Portuguese manager Carlos Manuel Queiroz, were unfortunate
to get defeated by Qatar in the last 4 round, and fell ultimately under the huge
pressure of the 20.000 home fans crammed in the stadium... This was only the
6th match of the Emirates under Mr. Queiroz, and it will be very important to
monitor the side's performances in the upcoming 14th Gulf Cup in Bahrain especially
after the retreat of many veteran players from the international scene, heading
them the striker Adnan Al-Talyani.
The other striker who took the competition by storm was nobody than the
22-year old Kuwait ace striker, Bashar Abdullah who ended at the runner-up spot
in the scorers' chart with 5 goals, including a hat-trick against the UAE in
the 3rd-place match. Kuwait were very useful in their group's qualifiers,
defeating the Egyptian Olympic side (4-1) before thrashing poor Syrian side (4-0).
It was only the shaky tactics by their Manager, the Czech Milan Macala who deprived
them from a place in the final. After opening the score in the 3rd minute, and
ending the first half on the (1-0) scoreline, the whole players went on the defensive
for the remaining 45 minutes, but finally were punished by 2 dead balls: a 25-yard
curling free-kick by the master of these set-pieces Youssouf Al-Tunayyan to level
the scoreline in the 65th minute, before Khaled Al-Timawi securing the (2-1) winner
in the 79th minute, thanks to a glancing header following a corner kick. The last
chance for Mr. Macala to remain as manager of the side, as announced by the local
FA, will be the forthcoming 14th Gulf Cup. Rumours already link Romanian Mircea
Radulescu (former manager of his country, and later Syria in this competition)
to get in charge the Kuwait side, following his recent dismissal by the Syrian
football federation at the end of the tournament.
Prepared and maintained by Mohamed S. Chbaro for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author:
Mohamed S. Chbaro
(sp_editor@terra.net.lb)
Last updated: 19 Dec 2002
(C) Copyright Mohamed S. Chbaro and RSSSF 1998/2002
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.