Dubai: The UAE Olympic team beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in their opening game of the U-23 Gulf Cup at the Aspire Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday.
An 86th minute strike from Ahmad Khalil was all that separated the two sides in Group B of the tournament, which features teams from all six GCC states.
Prior to the game, Coach Mehdi Ali stressed the importance of getting off to a good start in the tournament in order to secure promotion to the second round. He had expected a tough game.
Used as preparation for the Asian Games and Olympic Games, coaches of senior squads will also pay close attention to the ongoing tournament in order to draft players ahead of November's Gulf Cup in Yemen.
The fate of defending champions Saudi Arabia is now to be decided on the UAE's result over Kuwait today, after Saudi could only manage a 1-1 draw in last Wednesday's match.
Meanwhile In Group A, Oman is through to the second round after two consecutive 2-0 wins over Qatar and Bahrain.
