Fans across the stadium were sent into frenzy as Al Arabi defeated 18-time Amir Cup winner Al Sadd,

Al Arabi secured its first Amir Cup title in decades on Friday evening after defeating rivals Al Sadd in a heated 3-0 final at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

Some 30 years after Al Arabi’s last win in the major local tournament and 26 years after their last major title, the Red Devils delivered a performance at the World Cup stadium.

With an attendance of 37,839, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium was filled with cheers as fans watched their teams battle it out on the pitch.

Despite having the upper hand in the first half and Al Arabi’s defence putting their bodies on the line, Al Sadd was still unable to break the 0-0 curse in the first 45 minutes.

Al Arabi suffered a setback at the end of a goalless first half with Youssef Msakni replaced due to an injury. After the break, Hamed Ismail stepped onto the pitch to take over from his colleague.

However, the intensity flared in the second half.

Just a few minutes into the second half, Omar Al Somh’s ball found the back of the net, catapulting Al Arabi to a breakthrough in the scores, landing a 1-0 for Fareeg Al-Ahlam or ‘The Dream Team’ as it is also known.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was witnessed cheering alongside his brother Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino as Al Arabi took the lead.

Almost 20 minutes later, Al Arabi sealed it’s lead by scoring a second goal from Hamid Ismaeil in the 90th minute of the intense game.

With just moments on the clock, a fired up Al Somh from Al Arabi scored its third goal to secure its first victory at the Amir Cup final in decades.

Fans across the stadium were sent into frenzy as Al Arabi defeated 18-time Amir Cup winner Al Sadd, especially after the Red Devils lost the final to the rival team in 2020.

Younes Ali is the first Qatari coach to win the Amir Cup since 1993-94. The last coach to take home the trophy was Lebanese-Qatari Ahmed Omar, and coincidentally Al Sadd had defeated Al Arabi in the championship game.

Al Arabi was founded in April 1952 under the name “Al Tahrir”, making it the second oldest team in Qatar. Known as The Red Devils, the club is known for having one of the largest and most loyal fan bases in the Gulf nation.