 Mohamed Marhoon celebrates after scoring for Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf Cup final against Oman. Photo: X/bahrainnt1 Mohamed Marhoon celebrates after scoring for Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf Cup final against Oman. Photo: X/bahrainnt1 Fighting back strongly from a goal down, Bahrain defeated Oman 2-1 in the final to lift the Arabian Gulf Cup 2024-25 trophy at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on Saturday, January 4. (More Football News) Oman led for more than an hour as Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before Mohamed Marhoon converted a penalty for Bahrain to equalize in the 78th minute. Bahrain's winning goal came two minutes later, when Oman's Mohammed Al-Maslami inadvertently sent the ball into his own team's net. PR Sreejesh then showed his heroics in the shootout as an emotional Team India players celebrated their spot in the semis wherein they will play Germany on Tuesday, August 6. Marhoon was also pivotal in Bahrain's passage to the final, as he scored the winner in their narrow 1-0 victory over hosts Kuwait in the last-four stage. As for Oman, they had made it to the summit clash after a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in the semis. This is only Bahrain's second Gulf Cup title in the biennial tournament's 55-year history, having lifted the trophy in 2019 after final heart-breaks in the 1970, 1982, 1992 and 2003-04 editions. The next edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup will be held in 2026 in Saudi Arabia, which is quickly becoming a major destination for big-ticket global football events. Less than a month agofalcon play, Saudi Arabia was officially confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 men's World Cup, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. |
