Saudi Arabia beat Yemen to boost semi-final chances

Fahad al-Muwallad (l) celebrates Saudi Arabia's second goal against Yemen Frank Rijkaard's Saudi Arabia laboured to a 2-0 win over Yemen on Wednesday evening, to pick up their first points in the Gulf Cup. Goals from Yasser al-Qahtani and Fahad al-Muwallad put the Green Falcons back in contention for a place in the semi-finals. The result also eliminated Yemen from Group B after back-to-back defeats.
In the other group game on Wednesday, Iraq secured their place in the semi-finals with a 1-0 triumph over Kuwait at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium.
Saudi Arabia started the tournament as favourites, but suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against Iraq in their opening group match. There were hopes that a big victory over Yemen would boost confidence of the players, but the performance failed to live up to expectations.
After a lacklustre start, Rijkaard's men almost fell behind 15 minutes in, when Yemen's Khaled Baleid forced Waleed Abdulla in to a fine save. Moments later, Kameel Mohammed hit the bar at the end of a sweeping move which had Abdulla struggling.
As Tom Saintfiet's team grew in confidence, Saudi Arabia took control of the game in midfield and broke the deadlock. Al-Qahtani rose up to head a Nasser al-Shamrani cross on the left flank in the 33rd minute. In the second half, they continued to dominate possession before sealing the points. Al-Muwallad scored on the rebound after substitute Yahya al-Shihri's shot was parried away by Yemen goalkeeper Sauod al-Sowedi.
The Green Falcons are now sitting 3rd in Group B and face a do-or-die match against 2nd placed Kuwait on Saturday. They need a win because of their failure to boost goal difference against Yemen. In the other match, Yemen will be playing for pride against Iraq.
On Tuesday, UAE qualified for the next round after defeating hosts Bahrain 2-1 in Group A. Bahrain, with only one point, will face a crucial match against Qatar on Friday, while the UAE will face Oman with no pressure.