The UAE national team booked its place in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27" after defeating its Omani counterpart by a goal to nil, in the match that brought them together on Saturday evening at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, as part of the semi-final competitions of the tournament.
The only goal of the match came from Othman Camara in the 22nd minute, after he exploited a precise cross from Mamadou Coulibaly and headed it into the net, giving the UAE team the lead before the end of the first half.
In the second half, the UAE team had an opportunity to extend its lead after the referee awarded a penalty in its favor in the 56th minute, but Argentine Nicolas Gimenez missed it, as the Omani goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini saved the penalty and kept his country's hopes alive of returning to the match.
The Omani team tried to equalize in the remaining minutes, but the UAE defense and goalkeeper Khaled Eissa kept a clean sheet, ending the confrontation with a clean one-goal victory for "Al Abyad" and their official qualification for the final match.
According to the match statistics, the UAE team was superior in the number of shots with 10 compared to 4 for Oman, and also had possession of the ball by 55% compared to 45% for the Omani team, in a match that witnessed clear rivalry between the two sides.
The UAE team will face its Saudi counterpart in the final of "Gulf 27", after "Al Akhdar" booked its qualification ticket after defeating Qatar on penalties 3-2, after the original and extra time ended in a goalless draw. The final match is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, October 6, at Al-Inmaa Stadium in Jeddah.