Saudi Arabia secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Yemen in the 2024 Arabian Gulf Cup on Wednesday.
The match was part of the group stage, with Saudi Arabia on the verge of a group stage elimination following their defeat to Bahrain in the first group match.
Wednesday’s game, a make or mar encounter did not get off to a great start as Saudi Arabia were behind 2-0 before the half hour mark.
Yemen took the lead inside the opening eight minutes through Harwan Al Zubaidi. Not long after they doubled their advantage when Abdul Majeed Sabarah found the back of the net, before the half hour mark.
However, Hervé Renard’s side responded three minutes after going two down.
Mohamed Kanno halved the deficit on the 30th minute from a Musab Al Juwayr assist to go into the break with some hope.
With the momentum on their side, Saudi Arabia returned with some confidence and seven minutes after the restart they got the perfect response.
Youngster Al Juwayr was on target from the spot to bring the Green Eagles level for his second goal in the tournament.
Late on, substitute Abdullah Al Hamdan got the winner but it wasn’t the final bit of action as Yemen finished the match with 10 men following the sending off of Rami Al Wasmani.
The win marks a significant boost for Saudi Arabia’s chances of advancing to the knockout stages.
Yemen, meanwhile, will look to regroup and bounce back from the defeat in their upcoming matche.
This victory moved Saudi Arabia into second place on better goals difference than Iraq who also have 3 points.
