Yemen make Gulf Cup history against champions Bahrain

Yemen ended their Gulf Cup 27 campaign with a landmark result over the defending champions, but the victory was not enough to keep them in the tournament. The result was Yemen’s first five-goal performance in their Gulf Cup history and also confirmed Bahrain’s elimination without a point.

Bahrain took the lead through Ali Al Doseri in the sixth minute, but Yemen turned the match around before half-time. Nasser Mohammedوه equalised in the 18th minute, Abdulwasea Al Matari put Yemen ahead after 31 minutes, and Rami Al Wasmani added a third in the 40th. Adel Abbas scored Yemen’s fourth shortly before the interval. Ali Madan pulled one back for Bahrain in the 67th minute, before Al Wasmani completed the scoring deep into stoppage time.

Yemen finished third in Group B with three points and joined Bahrain in exiting the competition after the final round in Jeddah. Yemen had previously lost 4-0 to the United Arab Emirates and 1-0 to Qatar, while Bahrain had fallen 2-0 to Qatar and 3-0 to the UAE. The victory continued Yemen’s progress against Bahrain in the competition after their first Gulf Cup win, a 2-1 success in the previous edition in Kuwait.