Saudi Arabia and Morocco reach Arab Cup semi-finals

Saudi Arabia and Morocco both booked their places in the semi-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar after defeating Palestine and Syria respectively, in the opening matches of the quarter-final stage.

In the first match, Mohammed Kanno scored a decisive goal in the second period of extra time to lead Saudi Arabia to a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Palestine. As a result, the “Green Falcons” advanced to the semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the match between Jordan and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia opened the scoring in the second half after Salem Al-Dawsari was brought down inside the area by defender Mohammed Saleh, earning a penalty that Firas Al-Buraikan converted successfully in the 58th minute.

However, Palestine equalized six minutes later through Oday Dabbagh, who unleashed a powerful strike from inside the box that goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi was unable to stop. It was the fourth goal conceded by Saudi Arabia in four matches in the tournament.

Despite Palestine’s resilience during extra time, a delivery from Salem Al-Dawsari found Kanno, who finished calmly four minutes from the end to seal qualification for Saudi Arabia.

After the match, Saudi head coach Hervé Renard said: “Winning and qualifying for the semi-finals is the most important thing, but we also congratulate Palestine. We expected a difficult match because Palestine are a good team. We have watched many of their games and they fight in every match.”

Palestine coach Ihab Abu Jazar commented: “We played a big match. This is football — just as we celebrate victory, we must accept defeat with sporting spirit. We showed the character of a strong and proud team.”

Morocco qualify with difficulty

Unlike their previous matches, Morocco struggled before edging past Syria with a narrow 1–0 win.

Morocco, who topped Group B to reach the quarter-finals, will face the winner of today’s clash between Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The only goal of the match came in the 79th minute through substitute Walid Azaro, who reacted quickest to a rebound after a powerful shot from fellow substitute Mounir Chouiar was parried by the goalkeeper.

Morocco finished the match with ten men after Mohammed Mfid was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a reckless challenge from behind on Anas Dahan, but the “Atlas Lions” held firm under pressure until the final whistle.

Speaking after the match, the goal scorer said: “We thank the players for the effort they put in. It was not easy. We tried to give everything. We are one family and we support each other. We also thank the fans who are always there in large numbers to support us.”

Syrian star Omar Khribin, who appeared as a late substitute due to injury, said: “This is football. We are proud of what we showed. We played against one of the strongest teams in the world, and we hope this tournament will bring positive things for Syrian football.”