26th Arabian Gulf Cup

26th Arabian Gulf Cup

كأس الخليج العربي 26
Tournament details
Host country	Kuwait
Dates	21 December 2024 – 4 January 2025
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Bahrain (2nd title)
Runners-up	Oman
Tournament statistics
Matches played	15
Goals scored	41 (2.73 per match)
Attendance	390,990 (26,066 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mohamed Marhoon Issam Al-Sabhi Abdullah Al-Hamdan (3 goals each)
Best player(s)	Mohamed Marhoon
Best goalkeeper	Ebrahim Lutfalla
← 2023 2026 →

The 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Khaleeji Zain 26 for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. The tournament was held in Kuwait from 21 December 2024 to 4 January 2025. ^{[1] [2]}

Bahrain won the competition for the second time, beating Oman 2–1 in the final. ^[3]

Teams

Team	Appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings
			November 2024
Qatar	26th	Winners (1992, 2004, 2014)	48
Iraq (holders)	17th	Winners (1979, 1984, 1988, 2023)	56
Saudi Arabia	25th	Winners (1994, 2002, 2003–04)	59
United Arab Emirates	25th	Winners (2007, 2013)	63
Bahrain	26th	Winners (2019)	81
Oman	24th	Winners (2009, 2017–18)	80
Kuwait (hosts)	26th	Winners (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010)	134
Yemen	11th	Group stage (2003–04, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017–18, 2019, 2023)	157

Draw

The draw was held on 9 November 2024 at 19:00  UTC+3 in Kuwait City .The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots. Their positions were based on the FIFA ranking updated on 24 October.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Kuwait (hosts)   Iraq (title holders)	Qatar (46)   Saudi Arabia (59)	United Arab Emirates (68)   Bahrain (76)	Oman (80)   Yemen (154)

Squads

Main article: 26th Arabian Gulf Cup squads

Each team had to register a squad of 26 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers.

Venues

75km
50miles

2

1

  

Location of areas hosting the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup

1

Ardhiya

2

Sulaibikhat

Kuwait City
Ardhiya	Sulaibikhat
Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium	Sulaibikhat Stadium
Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 15,000(new)

Officials

Referees

• Mustapha Ghorbal
• Ammar Mahfoodh
• Mohanad Qasim Sarray
• Ahmad Al-Ali
• Dahane Beida
• Qasim Al-Hatmi
• Abdulrahman Al-Jassim
• István Kovács
• Khalid Al-Turais
• Halil Umut Meler
• Omar Al-Ali

Assistant referees

• Abdulla Al-Rowaimi
• Mohamed Salman
• Watheq Al-Swaiedi
• Ahmad Abbas
• Abdulhadi Al-Anezi
• Saoud Al-Maqaleh
• Taleb Al-Marri
• Mohammed Al-Abakry
• Abdelraheem Al-Shammari
• Jasem Al-Ali
• Mohamed Al-Hammadi

Fourth officials

• Mokrane Gourari
• Abbès Zerhouni
• Brahim Hmade
• Youssouf Yahia
• Nasser Al-Busaidi
• Hamed Al-Ghafer
• Mircea Grigoriu
• Ferencz Tunyogi
• Kerem Ersoy
• İbrahim Çağlar Uyarcan

Video Assistant officials

• Fu Ming
• Mahmoud Ashour
• Ahmed Rsetam
• Jumpei Iida
• Abdullah Jamali
• Khamis Al-Marri
• Abdullah Al-Shehri
• Haythem Guirat
• Mohamed Khadim

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings: Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Drawing of lots.

All times are local (UTC+03:00).

Group A

Main article: 26th Arabian Gulf Cup Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Oman	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5 [a]	Knockout stage
2	Kuwait (H)	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5 [a]
3	United Arab Emirates	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	2 [b]
4	Qatar	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	2 [b]

Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1. Disciplinary points: Oman –7, Kuwait –9
2. Disciplinary points: United Arab Emirates –6, Qatar –11

21 December 2024 (2024-12-21)

20:00

Kuwait	1–1	Oman
Nasser 34'	Report	Al-Sabhi 42'

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 42,445

Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

21 December 2024 (2024-12-21)

22:30

Qatar	1–1	United Arab Emirates
Afif 17' (pen.)	Report	Al-Ghassani 45+1'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 5,007

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

---

24 December 2024 (2024-12-24)

17:25

Oman	2–1	Qatar
Al-Sabhi 20' (pen.), 52'	Report	Ali 2'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 4,552

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq)

24 December 2024 (2024-12-24)

20:30

United Arab Emirates	1–2	Kuwait
Caio 5'	Report	Daham 16' M. Al-Enezi 89'

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 48,621

Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

---

27 December 2024 (2024-12-27)

17:30

Kuwait	1–1	Qatar
Daham 74'	Report	Muntari 90+11'

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 57,742

Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

27 December 2024 (2024-12-27)

17:30

United Arab Emirates	1–1	Oman
Al-Ghassani 20'	Report	Al-Mushaifri 79'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 7,813

Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

Group B

Main article: 26th Arabian Gulf Cup Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bahrain	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6 [a]	Knockout stage
2	Saudi Arabia	3	2	0	1	8	6	+2	6 [a]
3	Iraq	3	1	0	2	2	5	−3	3 [b]
4	Yemen	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3 [b]

Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Bahrain 3, Saudi Arabia 0
2. Head-to-head points: Iraq 3, Yemen 0

22 December 2024 (2024-12-22)

17:25

Iraq	1–0	Yemen
Hussein 64'	Report

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 7,203

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

22 December 2024 (2024-12-22)

20:30

Saudi Arabia	2–3	Bahrain
Al-Juwayr 73' Al-Shehri 86' (pen.)	Report	Abduljabbar 19' Al-Humaidan 38' Marhoon 76'

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 7,726

Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

---

25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)

17:25

Yemen	2–3	Saudi Arabia
Al-Zubaidi 8' Sabarah 27'	Report	Kanno 30' Al-Juwayr 57' (pen.) Al-Hamdan 90+3'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 9,200

Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)

25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)

20:30

Bahrain	2–0	Iraq
Madan 38', 47'	Report

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 13,150

Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

---

28 December 2024 (2024-12-28)

17:30

Iraq	1–3	Saudi Arabia
Ali 64'	Report	Al-Dawsari 57' (pen.) Al-Hamdan 81', 86'

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 54,942

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

28 December 2024 (2024-12-28)

17:30

Bahrain	1–2	Yemen
Al-Romaihi 62'	Report	Al-Khatal 41' (o.g.) Al-Zubaidi 88'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 4,293 ^[4]

Referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)

Knockout stage

Main article: 26th Arabian Gulf Cup knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	31 December 2024 – Sulaibikhat
	Oman	2
					4 January 2025 – Kuwait City
	Saudi Arabia	1
					Oman	1
	31 December 2024 – Kuwait City
					Bahrain	2
	Bahrain	1
	Kuwait	0

Semi-finals

31 December 2024 (2024-12-31)

17:30

Oman	2–1	Saudi Arabia
A. Al-Alawi 74' Al-Busaidi 85'	Report	Kanno 87'

Sulaibikhat Stadium, Sulaibikhat

Attendance: 10,500

Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

---

31 December 2024 (2024-12-31)

20:45

Bahrain	1–0	Kuwait
Marhoon 75'	Report

Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 60,122

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

Final

4 January 2025 (2025-01-04)

19:30

Oman	1–2	Bahrain
Al-Mushaifri 17'	Report	Marhoon 78' (pen.) Al-Musalami 80' (o.g.)

Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City

Attendance: 57,674

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Oman

Bahrain

GK 18 Faiz Al-Rushaidi  90+3'  90+9' CB 2 Mohammed Al-Musalami (c) CB 6 Ahmed Al-Khamisi  58' RB 13 Thani Al-Rushaidi LB 17 Ali Al-Busaidi CM 4 Arshad Al-Alawi  46' CF 12 Abdullah Fawaz  86' CM 23 Harib Al-Saadi CF 7 Issam Al-Sabhi  90+10' RM 10 Jameel Al-Yahmadi LM 21 Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri Substitutions: GK 1 Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini GK 22 Ibrahim Al-Rajhi  90+9' DF 3 Mulham Al-Sinaidi  58' 90+8' DF 5 Ghanim Al-Habashi DF 14 Ahmed Al-Kaabi DF 16 Khalid Al-Braiki MF 8 Zahir Al-Aghbari  86' MF 9 Ahed Al-Mashaiki MF 19 Mataz Saleh MF 24 Hussein Al-Shahri FW 25 Faraj Al-Kiyumi FW 26 Abdulsalam Al-Shukaili  90+8' Manager: Rashid Jaber

GK 22 Ebrahim Lutfalla CB 2 Amine Benaddi  43' CB 3 Waleed Al Hayam DM 4 Sayed Dhiya Saeed (c) RB 5 Hamad Al-Shamsan LB 23 Abdulla Al-Khalasi RW 7 Ali Madan AM 8 Mohamed Marhoon DM 19 Kamil Al-Aswad CF 13 Mohamed Al-Romaihi  56'  90+14' LW 20 Mahdi Al-Humaidan  83' Substitutions: GK 1 Ammar Mohamed GK 21 Sayed Mohammed Jaffer DF 16 Sayed Baqer DF 18 Mohamed Adel DF 24 Vincent Emmanuel MF 10 Abdulwahab Al-Malood MF 15 Jasim Al-Shaikh MF 17 Hazza Ali MF 25 Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei FW 9 Ebrahim Al-Khattal FW 11 Ismail Abdullatif  90+14' FW 26 Husain Abdulkarim Manager: Dragan Talajić

Assistant referees: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Saoud Al-Maqaleh (Qatar) Fourth official: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq) Reserve assistant referee: Ahmed Al-Baghdadi (Iraq) Video assistant referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Fu Ming (China) Ahmed Gatea (Iraq)

Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Maximum of twelve named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time Maximum of three substitution opportunities, with a fourth allowed in extra time

Winner

26th Arabian Gulf Cup Winner
Bahrain Second title

Goalscorers

There were 41 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.73 goals per match.

3 goals

• Mohamed Marhoon
• Issam Al-Sabhi
• Abdullah Al-Hamdan

2 goals

• Ali Madan
• Mohammad Daham
• Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri
• Musab Al-Juwayr
• Mohamed Kanno
• Yahya Al-Ghassani
• Harwan Al-Zubaidi

1 goal

• Mahdi Abduljabbar
• Mahdi Al-Humaidan
• Mohamed Al-Romaihi
• Mohanad Ali
• Aymen Hussein
• Moath Al-Enezi
• Yousef Nasser
• Arshad Al-Alawi
• Ali Al-Busaidi
• Akram Afif
• Almoez Ali
• Mohammed Muntari
• Salem Al-Dawsari
• Saleh Al-Shehri
• Caio Canedo
• Abdul Majeed Sabarah

1 own goal

• Ebrahim Al-Khattal (against Yemen)
• Mohammed Al-Musalami (against Bahrain)

Prize money and awards

Prize money

Position [5]	Amount (USD)
Champions	1,000,000
Runner-up	750,000
Total	1,750,000

Player awards

The following awards were given: ^[6]

Award	Player
Top Scorer	Mohamed Marhoon
Most Valuable Player	Mohamed Marhoon
Best Goalkeeper	Ebrahim Lutfalla

Broadcasters

Middle East

Territory	Broadcaster	Ref.
Bahrain	Bahrain Sport	[7]
Iraq	Al-Iraqiya Sports Alrabiaa Sports	[7]
Kuwait	KTV Sports	[7]
Oman	Oman Sports	[7]
Qatar	Alkass	[7]
Saudi Arabia	SSC KSA Sport
United Arab Emirates	AD Sports Dubai Sports	[8]
Yemen	SSC Alkass (via free YouTube streaming)

Others

Territory	Broadcaster	Ref.
United States of America	ESPN+
Netherlands	ESPN
Portugal	Sport TV

References

1. "Kuwait to host 26th Gulf Cup". Iraqi News. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
2. "خليجي 26 سيقام في الكويت نهاية عام 2024". beIN SPORTS (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-01-15.
3. "Bahrain national team wins the Arabian Gulf Cup title". YS Scores. 4 January 2025.
4. "«خليجي 26».. 262694 متفرجاً في الدور الأول" (in Arabic). Al-Etihad. 30 December 2024.
5. الدقاق, المعتصم بالله (2023-01-17). "جائزة المركز الأول في كأس الخليج 2023 بطولة خليجي 25". خبرني (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
6. "انهيار وبكاء حارس البحرين بعد التتويج بلقب كأس الخليج (فيديو)" (in Arabic). Erem News. 4 January 2025.
7. "Gulf 26 in Kuwait.. Match schedule and broadcasting channels". يمن شباب نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-31.
8. National, The. "Arabian Gulf Cup 2025: Fixtures, how to watch and all you need to know". The National. Retrieved 2024-12-31.