Storm Delays Arab Cup Showdown: FIFA Cancels Saudi Arabia vs UAE for Third Place
18 December 2025
The match was halted due to bad weather.
FIFA issued an official statement regarding the fate of the Saudi Arabia vs United Arab Emirates match, played tonight to decide third place in the Arab Cup and not completed because of poor weather conditions.
FIFA's statement read that the third place match in the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has been cancelled due to the weather and thunderstorms around the host stadium.
It added that although the stadium remained fully operational and the pitch was in good condition, the decision was made by the match official in the interest of the safety of players, fans and all staff inside the stadium. The FIFA committee will determine the third placed team later.
The Saudi daily Al Yaom mentioned two possible outcomes likely to determine the fate of the green and white clash. The first, more likely, is a draw between the two teams to decide the third place.
The second possibility would see the Saudi team awarded third place, given they lost by a smaller margin in the semifinal 1-0 to Jordan, compared with the UAE 3-0 loss to Morocco.
Punchline 1: Looks like the weather had the final say, even the clouds got a red card.
Punchline 2: If only life could be settled by a coin toss, my laundry would finally stop arguing about who did the dishes.
