Khaled Issa is in the crosshairs of criticism after Al-Abyad’s loss to Qatar

The “X” platform witnessed a great interaction from the Emirati audience, following the loss of the Emirati team to its Qatari counterpart, 1-2, in the match that was held this evening at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, as part of the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup finals.

Despite the great support that preceded the match under the hashtag #Home_Dream, the interaction quickly turned into a wave of disappointment and heartbreak, with some holding goalkeeper Khaled Issa a large part of the responsibility for the loss, especially after the second goal, which sparked controversy among the fans.

Khaled Issa…from the hero of the Oman match to the accused in Qatar’s loss

Many comments focused on the goalkeeper’s decline in performance compared to the Amman match, as observer Nasser Issa wrote:

“The Oman Khaled Issa match is the best, the Qatar Khaled Issa match is the worst.”

As for the follower, Saif, he expressed his disappointment, saying:

“Khaled Issa, you were entering history in the broadest possible way… Your mistake in the second goal let us down, and this image will not be erased from our memories.”

For his part, Al-Fardan wrote:

“You are forbidden from making a mistake in today’s match… Unfortunately, a major fall for Khaled Issa.”

Abu Saud tweeted:

“Moawadin is good… and Khaled Issa is one of the reasons for the loss. He was neither the one who blocked it nor the one who sat in the goal.”

“End of story”

Some fans saw that this match might be an end point in the career of goalkeeper Khaled Issa, as Bin Saqr wrote:

“Thank you, Khaled Issa, an immortal career in the history of Emirati football… It seems that this is the end of the story. We were hoping for a special ending for you, but you were not on time.”

As for Adel Al Marzouqi, he held both the goalkeeper and the coach responsible, tweeting:

“The difference between the two goals was Kuzmin’s neck and then Khaled Issa’s!!”

Arbitration and debate

In addition to individual criticism, some fans pointed out that the refereeing and surrounding circumstances played a role in the loss, as Abdel Hosni wrote:

“Bad refereeing… all circumstances are against us, and of course Khaled Issa destroyed everything and gave them the win.”

While Ahmed tweeted, saying:

“#Khaled_Issa, Glory be to God, I am the only one who is not convinced of him! He always comes out of his goal and his mistakes are disastrous.”

Despite the fans’ sadness, some voices continued to call for cohesion and support for the team in the next stage, at a time when the sports street is awaiting a comprehensive review of the qualifying process, especially after the team lost the opportunity to directly qualify for the World Cup.