Saudi Arabia reaches the semi-finals… and Palestine bids farewell to the Arab Cup with honor

The Palestinian team exited the Arab Cup in the quarter-finals, after losing to its Saudi counterpart, 2-1, after an extension for two additional periods, in an exciting confrontation that took place on Thursday evening.

“Al-Fedayi” gave an exceptional performance that went so far as to embarrass the Saudi “Green” stars, despite their honorable exit.

The match started at a relatively calm pace, before the ninth minute witnessed the first dangerous opportunity for the Saudi team via a cross ball sent by Musab Al-Battat, but the Palestinian defense succeeded in dispersing it. In the tenth minute, Salem Al-Dosari shot a strong ball that hit the defense and turned into a corner, followed by another attempt from Ali Majrashi that went wide of the goal.

In the 28th minute, Palestinian defender Hamed Hamdan fired a powerful shot over the crossbar, minutes after receiving a yellow card. “Al-Fedayi” continued its style of defensive organization while relying on counterattacks in the second half, but Salem Al-Dosari’s skill turned the tables when he started from the left side before being obstructed by defender Mohamed Saleh, so Egyptian referee Amin Omar awarded a penalty kick that Firas Al-Braikan successfully executed in the 58th minute.

The Palestinian response came quickly, as Uday Al-Dabbagh was able to score the equalizing goal in the 64th minute after a cross ball went past Walid Al-Ahmad’s head, so he received it with his left and shot it with his right into the net.

In the last minutes of regular time, Mohammed Saleh almost caused a second Saudi goal after touching the ball with his hand following a cross from Ali Majrashi, but video technology intervened and canceled the decision to award the penalty kick.

During the extra two halves, physical differences appeared in favor of the Saudi team, which was able to score the winning goal in the 115th minute after a perfect cross from Salem Al-Dosari, which Mohammed Kanno headed into the far corner from goalkeeper Rami Hamada.