Hassan Tambakti criticised after Saudi Arabia reach Gulf Cup 27 final

Saudi Arabia defender Hassan Tambakti has been criticised for his failed penalty despite his side reaching the Gulf Cup 27 final by beating Qatar in a shootout.

The semi-final finished goalless after 90 minutes before Saudi Arabia prevailed 3-2 on penalties. Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Mohammed Kanno and Mukhtar Ali scored for Saudi Arabia, while Tambakti and Firas Al-Buraikan missed their attempts.

For Qatar, Edmilson and Al-Jarahi converted, but Almoez Ali, Jassem Gaber and Boualem Khoukhi were unable to score as Saudi Arabia secured a place in Tuesday’s final against the United Arab Emirates.

Tambakti was criticised for the manner of his effort. He hesitated during his run-up and failed to deceive the Qatar goalkeeper, who saved comfortably.

Speaking on the Rotana Sport with Waleed programme, sports broadcaster Imad Al-Salmi said Tambakti had approached the moment with excessive calmness.

“Tambakti dealt with the moment with too much composure,” Al-Salmi said. “He is a ‘cold’ player, but he understands being calm during a penalty in the wrong way.”

Al-Salmi added that the defender should have taken greater responsibility and criticised the execution, describing his penalty as “very poor”.

Fellow broadcaster Mohammed Al-Anzi said Tambakti’s approach was not unfamiliar, noting that the defender had scored penalties using the same method in previous matches. However, he felt the attempt against Qatar was unsuccessful.

“This was a poor execution,” Al-Anzi said. “He should play it from the heart and make people feel that he is serious.”

Mohammed Al-Sheikh questioned whether Tambakti should have been selected to take a penalty at all. He argued that the defender’s stance and slow movement before striking the ball made his intentions too obvious to the goalkeeper.

“He has the style of a player who does not know how to take penalties,” Al-Sheikh said.

Ibrahim Al-Anqari also criticised the attempt, saying: “He went into taking the penalty without an idea.”

The comments were broadcast after Saudi Arabia’s shootout victory and shared by the Rotana Sport with Waleed account on 3 October 2026. The result leaves Saudi Arabia one match away from winning Gulf Cup 27, with the final against the United Arab Emirates scheduled for Tuesday.