Saudi Arabia beats Palestine in FIFA Arab Cup quarter final

Saudi Arabia defeated Palestine 2-1 in the FIFA Arab Cup quarterfinal at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Thursday, December 11.

The match was drawn 1-1 in the normal time, and a header by Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Kanno in the 115th minute during the extra time. Saudi Arabia took the lead after Firas Al-Buraikan converted a penalty in the 58th minute.

Palestine’s Oday Dabbagh scored an equaliser in the 64th minute. According to a report by Al Jazeera, in a tight first half, only one side managed a shot on target, a reflection of Saudi’s share of the play, which included four shorts off target compared to Palestine’s one.

It came when Salem Al-Dawsari very nearly provided the spark to open up the Palestine defence. The Saudi forward burst into the box via the inside right channel and squared his cross-come-shot that was only palmed away by Rami Hamada, who dived off his line but could only tip the ball towards the onrushing group of players.

Whoever wins the Jordan vs Iraq match on Friday will face Saudi Arabia in the Semifinal.