The players are back on the field and the second half of the match between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is underway, with all the action and excitement here on VAVEL, in this clash for third place in the Arab Cup!
After a lively first half with many attacks from both sides, the score remained 0-0, ending the first half with a 0-0 score. The third-place match is very exciting, and both teams are putting in a great performance.
We will have just one more minute of added time in the match. Abduyllah Al Hamddan received the pass up front and shot hard, with a deflection, sending the ball out for a corner, taken into the area for the defense to clear and Nasser Al Dawsari shot hard, sending the ball over the defense.
Abu Al Shamat received the pass up front and crossed to Feras Al Brikan, who headed powerfully towards the middle of the goal, but Al Meqbaali made the save. Shortly after, Salem Al Dawsari received the pass up front and shot powerfully, but it was blocked by the defense once again.
Yahya Al Ghassani received the pass up front and shot hard, but sent the ball wide to the right of the goal. The United Arab Emirates managed to dominate the game in the final minutes, creating dangerous attacks!
Bruno Conceição managed a powerful long-range shot, but sent the ball straight at the defense. Moments later, Saleh Al Shehri received a pass up front and shot powerfully, but it was also blocked by the defense. Both teams are creating good chances in the attacking third!
Saleh Al Shehri received the pass up front and shot hard, but it hit the defense, resulting in a corner kick. The corner was taken into the box, the defense cleared it, and Mohammed Abu Al Shamat took a powerful long-range shot, but it was also blocked by the defense.
Nasser Al Dawsari received the pass up front and shot hard, but straight at the defense, in Saudi Arabia’s first good attacking move. Shortly after, Ali Saleh managed a strong shot, but it also went straight at the defense.
After a start with good attacks from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia managed to balance the game, albeit slightly, and took possession in the final minutes, where no shots on goal occurred so far.
Ali Saleh received the pass up front from Sultan Adil and managed a shot towards the right corner, where Najjar parried it for a corner. The ball was then crossed into the area for Al Ghassani to get a powerful shot off, but sent it wide!
The United Arab Emirates started the match pressing high! On the right they won a corner, the ball was taken into the area for Lucas Pimenta to rise above the defense, heading powerfully, but wide. Soon after, in another cross into the area, Lucas Pimenta headed strongly, but into Najjar’s hands.
The players are taking to the pitch and the ball is rolling for Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates, in these first 45 minutes of the third-place match of the FIFA Arab Cup, with all the action and excitement in real time here on VAVEL!
And, on neutral ground, as it will be today, there have been 10 matches between the two rivals today, where Saudi Arabia won five times, once in the Asian Cup and four times in the Gulf Cup, against one victory for the UAE, in the Gulf Cup, and four draws, one in the Asian Cup and three in the Gulf Cup.
There have been 38 matches in history between the two teams facing each other later today, with 22 wins for Saudi Arabia, eight for the United Arab Emirates, and eight draws. Interestingly, this will be the first Arab Cup match between the teams!
In 1992 Egypt beat Saudi Arabia 3-2. In 1998 Saudi Arabia won, beating Qatar 3-1. And in 2002 Saudi Arabia won again, beating Bahrain 1-0. In 2012 the competition returned, with Morocco drawing 1-1 with Libya and winning 2-1 on penalties.
In 1966, in a final, Iraq beat Syria 2-1. The competition was only resumed in 1985, with another Iraqi victory, 1-0 over Bahrain. In 1988, Iraq won again, drawing 1-1 with Syria and winning 4-3 on penalties.
The Arab Cup, also formerly known as the Arab Nations Cup, is not in its first edition. Without a linear timeline, the first two editions took place in 1963 and 1964, where Tunisia and Iraq, respectively, won the competition, which was a round-robin tournament.
The game later today will decide third place in the FIFA Arab Cup, thus concluding the participation of the two teams playing later. Later today, at 11:00 AM, the final will kick off, with Jordan facing Morocco!
For tonight’s game, Cosmin Olaroiu will have the following players available to use during the match against Saudi Arabia: Ali Khasif, Adel Hosan, Kouame Autonne, Richard Akonnor, Khaled Aldhanhani, Luan Pereira, Majid Rashid, Nicolás Giménez, Caio and Mohammad Juma.
For the next game, Herve Renard will have the following names to use during the match against UAE: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Abdulrahman Al Sanbvi, Hassan Al Tambakti, Ali Majrashi, Saleh Abul Al-Shamat, Abdullah Al-Khaibari and Abdulrahman Alobud.
With a 4-2-3-1 formation, the United Arab Emirates are lined up for tonight’s match in the FIFA Arab Cup and will take the field against Saudi Arabia with: Meqebaali, Meloni, Pimenta, Ivkovic and Amaral; Nader, Faiz, Oliveira, Saleh and Alghassani; Adil.
With a 4-4-2 formation, Saudi Arabia is lined up for tonight’s match in the FIFA Arab Cup and will take the field to face the United Arab Emirates with: Al-Najjar, Al-Shamat, Al-Amri, Sulaiman and Boushal; Juwayr, Al-Hamdan, Nasser Al-Dawsari and Salem Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan and Al-Shehri.
We are now live streaming the match between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with all the action and excitement in real time from this third-place match in the FIFA Arab Cup, here on VAVEL, with today’s game broadcast directly from Khalifa International Stadium!
Besides the live coverage here on VAVEL US, with all the plays and excitement of this first round of the FIFA Arab Cup, the match between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates will NOT be broadcast live in the US, where VAVEL US is your best and only option to follow the Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates game this Thursday, valid for the third-place match of the FIFA Arab Cup!
Finally, today’s game takes place at the Khalifa International Stadium, located in Doha, Qatar. Opened in 1976, the stadium underwent renovations in 2005 and 2017 to reach its current capacity of over 45,000 spectators. The stadium hosts occasional matches from various competitions, as well as matches of the Qatar National Football Team.
In the semi-final of the Arab Cup, where they were beaten 3-0 by Morocco, the UAE used the following team, in a 4-2-3-1 formation, taking the field with: Meqebaali, Aldhanhani, Pimenta, Ivkovic and Amaral; Rashid, Faiz, Oliveira and Giménez; Caio
In the semi-final of the Arab Cup, where they were beaten by Jordan 1-0, Saudi Arabia used the following lineup, in a 4-1-4-1 formation, taking the field with: Al-Aqidi, Majrashi, Tambakti, Al-Ahmed and Boushal; Al-Khaibari, Aboulshamat, Kanno, Nasser Al-Dawsari and Salem Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan.
The United Arab Emirates, in turn, in Group C, totaled four points, finishing in second place, far behind Jordan, five points behind, in addition to being two points ahead of Egypt and three ahead of Kuwait, who closed the group, outside the qualifying zone of the competition.
To reach the knockout stage, Saudi Arabia finished second in Group B with six points, one point behind Morocco, which led the group. Oman came in second with four points, eliminated from the competition along with Comoros, which scored no points, finishing last in the group.
The United Arab Emirates, for their part, come with one win, one draw, and one loss in their last games. On December 9th, they won 3-1 in the group stage against Kuwait, with goals from Nicolás Giménez and Alghassani (2), while Al-Hajeri scored for Kuwait. On the 12th, in the quarterfinals, they drew 1-1 with Algeria, with Boulbina opening the scoring and Bruno Oliveira equalizing, going to penalties, where they won 7-6. And on the 15th, in the semifinals, they lost 3-0 to Morocco, with goals from Hamdallah, El Mahdioui, and El Berkaoui.
Saudi Arabia comes into today’s game with two losses and one win in their last few matches. On December 8th, still in the group stage, they lost 1-0 to Morocco, with a goal by Al-Rashdan. On the 11th, they won 2-1 in the quarterfinals against Palestine, with goals from Al-Buraika and Kanno, while Dabbagh scored for Palestine. And on the 15th, they lost 1-0 in the semifinals to Jordan, with a goal by El Berkaoui.
