21st Arabian Gulf Cup
The 21st Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي) was the twenty-first edition of the biennial football competition. It took place in Bahrain in January 2013. The competition was originally scheduled to be hosted in the city of Basra, Iraq, but was moved to Bahrain in October 2011 to ensure that Iraq could suitably host the competition in the 22nd edition.[1]
| كأس الخلیج العربي 2013، خليجي 21 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Bahrain |
| Dates | 5–18 January 2013 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United Arab Emirates (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Iraq |
| Third place |  Kuwait |
| Fourth place |  Bahrain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 36 (2.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 319,000 (19,938 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Abdulhadi Khamis Ahmed Khalil (3 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Omar Abdulrahman |
| Best goalkeeper | Noor Sabri |
| Fair play award | Iraq |
Seeding of teams
The eight participating teams were divided into two groups, Bahrain (the host nation) were placed in Group A, Kuwait (the holder) in Group B, while the rest of the teams were placed in a pot based on FIFA rankings. The draw was held in Bahrain on 18 October 2012.[2]
| A | Bahrain (hosts) |
|
| Kuwait (holders) |
||
| B | Iraq |
|
 Oman |
||
| C |  Qatar |
|
 Saudi Arabia |
||
| D | United Arab Emirates |
|
 Yemen |
Venues
| Riffa | Isa Town |
|---|---|
| Bahrain National Stadium | Khalifa Sports City Stadium |
| Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 20,000 |
 |
|
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations took place in the Bahrain National Stadium on 5 January. The event featured the attendance of Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain, members of the ruling family, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, Michel Platini, the president of UEFA as well as other officials.[3] Blatter commended the ceremony, stating that "The opening ceremony was very nice: 9.5 out of 10 because perfection does not exist".[4] Following the ceremony, Blatter also stated that the organisational level of the Gulf Cup would have to be improved if it was to be a FIFA-sanctioned event and wanted the cup to be played simultaneously with the Africa Cup of Nations.[4]
Squads
Group stage
All times are local time (UTC+03:00).
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 |
| Bahrain |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Qatar |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 |
| Oman |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
| Qatar | 1–3 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
Ibrahim  11' (pen.) |
Report | Abdulrahman 13' Mabkhout 29'Ahmed 66' |
| United Arab Emirates | 2–0 | Oman |
|---|---|---|
| Khalil 83', 86' |
Report |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 |
| Kuwait |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
| Yemen |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| Yemen | 0–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Al-Qahtani 33' F. Al-Muwallad 86' |
| Kuwait | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Nasser 13' |
Report |
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 15 January – Riffa | ||||||
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | |||||
| 18 January – Riffa | ||||||
| Kuwait | 0 | |||||
| United Arab Emirates (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||
| 15 January – Riffa | ||||||
| Iraq | 1 | |||||
| Iraq | 1 (4) | |||||
| Bahrain | 1 (2) | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 18 January – Isa Town | ||||||
| Kuwait | 6 | |||||
| Bahrain | 1 | |||||
Third place play-off
Final
| United Arab Emirates | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Iraq |
|---|---|---|
| Abdulrahman 28' Al Hammadi 107' |
Report | Mahmoud 81' |
| 21st Arabian Gulf Cup Winners |
|---|
United Arab Emirates Second title |
Team statistics
This table shows all team performance.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final phase | |||||||||
| 1 | United Arab Emirates |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | |
| 2 | Iraq |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | |
| 3 | Kuwait |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 | +6 | |
| 4 | Bahrain |
5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | |
| Eliminated in the group stage | |||||||||
| 5 | Saudi Arabia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | |
| 6 | Qatar |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | |
| 7 | Oman |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | |
| 8 | Yemen |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | |
Prize money and awards
Prize money
The football associations were given prize money for a fourth place and above finish in the competition in riyals.[5]
- First Place: 2,000,000 Riyals
- Second Place: 1,500,000 Riyals
- Third Place: 500,000 Riyals
- Fourth Place: 250,000 Riyals
Playing awards
The following awards were given:[5]
| Award | Player | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Play Award | Iraq | 200,000 Riyals |
| Top Scorer | Abdulhadi Khamis Ahmad Khalil | 100,000 Riyals |
| Most Valuable player | Omar Abdulrahman | 100,000 Riyals |
| Best Goalkeeper | Noor Sabri | 100,000 Riyals |
References
- "Bahrain to host 21st Gulf Cup". QFA.com.qa. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- "Draw of 21st Gulf Cup in October". QFA.com.qa. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- "21st Gulf Cup, opening ceremony kicks off tournament in Bahrain". Qatar Football Association. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- Meenaghan, Gary (6 January 2013). "Gulf Cup: Tournament must be reorganised to get Fifa approval, warns Blatter". The National. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- "All ready for kick-off". Gulf Weekly. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.