Memories 17 years in the making: Saudi Arabia avenge Oman with a historic half

Saudi Arabia shine

Saudi Arabia gained revenge on Oman at the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27", stirring memories from 17 years ago.

The two sides met on Saturday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the second round of the group stage.

Saudi Arabia delivered a historic first half. They found the net three times and carved out chance after chance against the Omani goal.

According to the Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadiah", this marks the first time the Saudis have gone into half-time three goals or more to the good in the Arabian Gulf Cup since the Gulf 19 edition in 2009.

Back then, Saudi Arabia led Yemen 5-0 at the break on 8 January 2009, in the second round of the second group's fixtures, and went on to win 6-0.

That same edition threw up a historic clash between Saudi Arabia and Oman in the final. It finished goalless, and the Saudis lost the tournament on penalties.

The last match overall in which Saudi Arabia scored three before half-time also came against Yemen, in June 2021, during qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. That one ended with the same result.