UAE's Early Double Pushes Kuwait Aside to Clinch Arab Cup Quarterfinals

Match Overview

Emirati forward Yahya Al-Gasani explained that scoring two early goals against Kuwait gave the UAE a comfortable path to a 3-1 victory and a berth in the Arab Cup quarterfinals in Qatar through December 18.

In a press conference he said the two goals were in the 16th minute from a penalty and in the 18th minute and helped impose control over the match against Kuwait to secure the victory, at Stadium 974 in the third and final round of Group C.

He added that the Kuwaiti side were not affected by the red card shown to Fahd Al-Hajri; on the contrary, their second half performance improved and they managed to score a goal, and could have levelled before his teammate Nicolas Jimenez scored the third in the second half.

Group Standings and Next Steps

He continued that the team is not focusing on the quarterfinal opponent; all attention is on recovery after the tough match with Kuwait, and whatever the next opponent is they will be a strong side because all Arab teams in the competition are highly competitive and eager to win the title.

Jordan had already secured first place and the group top spot after the second round, and today extended their advantage by taking nine points with a 3-0 win over Egypt at Al-Bayt Stadium.

Punchline: If football were a movie, UAE would have delivered a fast opening sequence that stole the show.

Punchline: Kuwait’s defense learned that timing matters in football, but the clock kept running anyway.