Arab Cup Drama: Near-Own Goal Sparks Laughs as Bahrain Beats Sudan 3-1

Near-Goal Drama in Qatar

In one of the strangest moments of the Arab Cup currently held in Qatar, a Sudanese player nearly scored a brilliant own goal, while the Bahraini counterpart failed to tuck the ball into the empty net.

In the 18th minute of the match between Sudan and Bahrain, played on Tuesday in Group D, Ammar Taifour, a Sudanese player, surprised his teammate Mohammed Abuja, the goalkeeper, with a wild shot that nearly found the net before it was cleared.

The scene didn’t end there as the ball rolled toward Ali Madin, Bahrain’s forward, with the goal mouth wide open, but he blasted the chance wide, drawing astonished gasps from his teammates.

Standings and Aftermath

While Madin wasted that opportunity, Bahrain still stood level, until the Bahraini side eventually won 3-1.

Yet the result did Bahrain little good, as the team bowed out alongside Sudan, while Algeria and Iraq progressed to the quarterfinals.

Bahrain finished third in the group with three points, their first win of the tournament, not enough to overtake Iraq, who finished second with six.

By contrast, Sudan ended the group at the bottom with a single point from their opening draw against Algeria.

Punchline 1: If precision were a shot, that one would have almost hit a bullseye—just not quite in the goal, more in the stands of doubt.

Punchline 2: They say football is a game of inches; apparently, Bahrain and Sudan found them all together, right where the goalposts forgot to be generous.