Despite being underestimated, Oman opened the scoring. In the 9th minute, the Oman players won the ball after a corner kick from their opponents and then quickly counterattacked. While entering the Saudi Arabia penalty area, Muhsen Al-Ghassani was fouled by defender Hassan Tambakti. After consulting VAR, the referee decided to award a penalty. Salaah Al-Yahyaei successfully converted the penalty to help Oman take the lead when the clock showed 14 minutes.

Oman unexpectedly took the lead (Photo: Getty)
In the rest of the first half, Saudi Arabia tried to push up the attack but failed. The three-time Asian Cup champions only had three shots in the half, one of which was on target but failed to score. The first half ended with Oman leading 1-0.
In the second half, Saudi Arabia continued to press the field while Oman retreated deep to play defensive counter-attacks. Saudi Arabia's attacking efforts were rewarded in the 78th minute. Receiving the ball in front of the Oman penalty area, Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate at Al Nassr Club, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, dribbled past two opposing players and scored the equalizer.
Excited after the equalizer, Saudi Arabia continued to attack overwhelmingly. In the 90+6 minute, Ali Albulayhi headed the ball into the Oman net. Initially, the goal was disallowed due to an offside. However, after consulting VAR, the referee confirmed that Ali Albulayhi's goal was valid and Saudi Arabia took the lead 2-1. In the little time remaining, Oman could not equalize, thereby accepting defeat.

Ali Albulayhi scored in the 90+6 minute (Photo: Getty)
Winning 3 dramatic points helped Saudi Arabia rank 2nd in Group F after the first round of matches, equal on points with Thailand but inferior in additional index. Oman and Kyrgyzstan shared the bottom 2 positions in Group F without any points.
In the next match, Oman will face Thailand at 9:30 p.m. on January 21 and Saudi Arabia will meet Kyrgyzstan at 00:30 a.m. on January 22.
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