Video: he celebrated qualification twice: wild joy for Oman's national team after the Gulf 27 draw

Oman's players lost their heads in celebration after reaching the semi-finals of the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27" at Iraq's expense, and they did it by winning a draw.

The Gulf Football Federation staged the draw at a hotel in Jeddah to settle which side, Iraq or Oman, would join Saudi Arabia as the second qualifier from Group A. Everything between them was level.

Out came Oman's name. They progressed as runners-up behind Saudi Arabia, who topped the group with a perfect record of 9 points.

Abu Dhabi Sports channels published a clip from Oman's team base in Jeddah once their place in the last four was confirmed at Iraq's expense through the draw.

خاص #أبوظبي_الرياضية 🎥 كاميرتنا ترصد لحظة إعلان التأهل وأجواء السعادة العارمة من مقر إقامة منتخب عُمان#الفريق_التاسع ##خليجي27 pic.twitter.com/Yt5tq0H84G — ADSportsTV (@ADSportsTV) September 29, 2026

Bizarrely, this was the second time Oman had celebrated going through. Their players had already done so at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah after beating Kuwait 3-1 in the third round of the group stage.

Convinced they had edged Iraq on fair play, the Oman players believed the job was done. Then came the twist. The two sides were level on that count too, forcing a draw that finally confirmed Oman's place.

Look at the numbers and you see why. Both teams finished on 4 points, drew their meeting 1-1, scored 4 goals apiece and conceded 5, and each picked up 8 yellow cards with no red cards. Only the draw could separate them, and it fell Oman's way.