Yemen earning two points from three games was a bit of a shock but there is little doubt as to who has been the surprise team of the tournament.
Oman’s 5-0 thrashing of Kuwait made the rest of the tournament take notice as they knocked the nine-time champions out of the competition on the way to finishing top of Group B.
They had performed well enough in a 0-0 draw with the UAE in the first match and came back strongly to share the spoils with Iraq after falling behind.
But what came next was out of the blue.
Oman tore through Kuwait, whose defeat is already being called the most shameful in their Gulf Cup history by the country’s press.
Suddenly, Oman go into Sunday’s semi-final against Qatar as favourites to meet the winner of the UAE or Saudi Arabia in Wednesday’s final.
Read more: Gulf Cup expectations are high in a familiar setting for UAE
Qatar have been nowhere near as impressive as their opponents over the past week, scraping into the last four thanks to two scoreless draws against Yemen and Bahrain after the opening day 1-1 draw against the hosts.
Their form will hold no fear for the rampant Omanis who showed in their match against Kuwait that big reputations mean nothing at this stage.
With few fans to back them and such a distinctly uninspiring run of form, Qatar will be looking to quieten the loud Omani contingent off the pitch and hope to hit the 11 on it on the break.
The longer they keep the Omanis at bay the better their chances and manager Djamel Belmadi would prefer if the match went to extra time.
Paul Le Guen and his men have lost the element of surprise, but they will likely stick to the policy that served them well against Kuwait – attack, attack, attack.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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