Omani sports commentator Khalil Al-Balushi couldn't hide his astonishment at the way Oman reached the semi-finals of the Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".
Oman got there in dramatic fashion. They beat Kuwait 3-1 in the final round of the group stage, but a glaring blunder cost them direct qualification. Musab Al-Shaqsi, scorer of the third goal, whipped off his shirt to celebrate, and that moment left "the Reds" clinging to the draw after finishing level with the Lions of Mesopotamia in everything, right down to fair play.
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Officials from both Iraq and Oman gathered for the draw after the match, and it sent Oman through to the next round alongside group winners Saudi Arabia.
The whole thing sparked huge controversy at full time. "I am still in shock, I don't know, but thank God we qualified," said Al-Balushi, the Al-Kass commentator, once his side had gone through.
He went on: "I don't know how that happened, let me go back to the hotel and think until I can take in the matter," adding: "Thank God we qualified, we needed this qualification, in terms of morale it will be extremely beneficial"
Oman had opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Iraq, then lost 3-0 to hosts Saudi Arabia in the second round, before their 3-1 win over Kuwait on Tuesday.
Iraq, meanwhile, beat Kuwait 3-2 in the second round, then lost 2-0 to Saudi Arabia tonight.