The 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Khaleeji Zain 26 for sponsorship reasons, will be the 26th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. The tournament will be held in Kuwait from 21 December 2024 to 3 January 2025.[2][3]
| كأس الخليج العربي 26 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Kuwait |
| Dates | 21 December 2024 – 3 January 2025[1] |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
← 2023 | |
Teams
edit| Team | Appearance | Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | ||||
 Qatar |
26th | Winners (1992, 2004, 2014) | 48 | |
 Iraq (holders) |
17th | Winners (1979, 1984, 1988, 2023) | 56 | |
 Saudi Arabia |
25th | Winners (1994, 2002, 2003–04) | 59 | |
 United Arab Emirates |
25th | Winners (2007, 2013) | 63 | |
 Bahrain |
26th | Winners (2019) | 81 | |
 Oman |
24th | Winners (2009, 2017–18) | 80 | |
 Kuwait (hosts) |
26th | Winners (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2010) | 134 | |
 Yemen |
11th | Group stage (2003–04, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017–18, 2019, 2023) | 157 | |
Venues
edit
Location of areas hosting the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup
Hosting venues list will be finalized in 2024.
| Kuwait City
| |
|---|---|
| Ardhiya | Sulaibikhat |
| Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium | Sulaibikhat Stadium |
| Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 15,000 (new) |
|
|
Draw
editThe draw was held on 9 November 2024 at 19:00 UTC+3 in Kuwait City .The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kuwait
|
Qatar
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Oman
|
Squads
editGroup stage
edit| Tiebreakers |
|---|
The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:
|
All times are local (UTC+03:00).
Group A
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Arab Emirates
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Qatar
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Kuwait (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Oman
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 2024. Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Group B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iraq
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Bahrain
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Yemen
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 2024. Source: AGCFF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Knockout stage
editIn the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 31 December 2024 – | ||||||
| Winner Group A | ||||||
| 3 January 2025 – | ||||||
| Runner-up Group B | ||||||
| Winner Semi-final 1 | ||||||
| 31 December 2024 – | ||||||
| Winner Semi-final 2 | ||||||
| Winner Group B | ||||||
| Runner-up Group A | ||||||
Semi-finals
edit| Winner Group A | Semi-final 1 | Runner-up Group B |
|---|---|---|
| Winner Group B | Semi-final 2 | Runner-up Group A |
|---|---|---|
Final
edit| Winner Semi-final 1 | v | Winner Semi-final 2 |
|---|---|---|
References
edit- ^ "كونا : الاتحاد الخليجي لكرة القدم يقرر انطلاق (خليجي 26) في 21 ديسمبر المقبل" (in Arabic). KUNA. 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Kuwait to host 26th Gulf Cup". Iraqi News. 2023-01-09. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
- ^ "خليجي 26 سيقام في الكويت نهاية عام 2024". beIN SPORTS (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-01-15.