Bahrain beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to lift first-ever Gulf Cup trophy

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Bahrain beat Saudi Arabia by a single goal in the 2019 Gulf Cup Final on Sunday at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Striker Mohamed Al-Rumaihi scored the only goal of the match in the 69th minute to secure the first-ever Arabian Gulf Cup for Bahrain.

The win also avenged Bahrain’s 2-0 loss to Saudi Arabia earlier in the tournament, when the two sides met on Nov. 30 in the second match of Group B. Bahrain finished runners-up in the group.

Bahrain beat Iraq in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the tournament after the match ended 2-2.

The two nations have built a footballing rivalry in recent years. In August, Bahrain defeated Iraq 1-0 in the 2019 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship Final to lift the trophy on Iraq’s turf.

Read More: Iraq lose 2019 WAFF Final on home soil

The two teams are also in the same FIFA World Cup qualifying group. The two matches they have played have ended in a 0-0 and 1-1 draw. Iraq leads the group by two points.

The 2019 Gulf Cup was the 24th edition of the regional football tournament. The competition includes eight teams that make up members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation.

Kuwait is the competition’s most successful team, having won 10 titles in the past.