International football tournament in 2026
27th Arabian Gulf Cup كأس الخليج العربي 27 Host country Saudi Arabia City Jeddah Dates 23 September – 6 October 2026 Teams 8 (from 1 confederation)
International football competition
The 27th Arabian Gulf Cup will be the 27th edition of the biennial football competition for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation .[1] [2] The tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia from 23 September to 6 October 2026.[3] [4]
Teams
Team
Appearance
Previous best
FIFA Rankings
Qatar 27th
Winners (1992 , 2004 , 2014 )
Saudi Arabia (hosts) 26th
Winners (1994 , 2002 , 2003–04 )
Iraq 18th
Winners (1979 , 1984 , 1988 , 2023 )
United Arab Emirates 26th
Winners (2007 , 2013 )
Oman 25th
Winners (2009 , 2017–18 )
Bahrain (holders) 27th
Winners (2019 , 2024–25 )
Kuwait 27th
Winners (1970 , 1972 , 1974 , 1976 , 1982 , 1986 , 1990 , 1996 , 1998 , 2010 )
Yemen 12th
Group stage (2003–04 , 2004 , 2007 , 2009 , 2010 , 2013 , 2014 , 2017–18 , 2019 , 2023 , 2024–25 )
Venues
500km
1
Location of areas hosting the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup
Group stage
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
Drawing of lots.
Group A
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
1
Saudi Arabia (H)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Knockout stage
2
A2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
A3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
A4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
First match(es) will be played: 2025. Source: AGCFF(H) Hosts
Group B
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
1
Bahrain 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Knockout stage
2
B2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
B3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
B4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
First match(es) will be played: 2025. Source: AGCFF
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
Semi-finals Final
3 October 2026 – Jeddah
Winner Group A
6 October 2026 – Jeddah
Runner-up Group B
Winner Semi-final 1
3 October 2026 – Jeddah
Winner Semi-final 2
Winner Group B
Runner-up Group A
Semi-finals
Final
References
^ "جدة تستضيف كأس الخليج العربي الـ 27 في سبتمبر 2026" (in Arabic). Maspero. 2 January 2026. ^ "رسميا.. جدة تستضيف خليجي 27 في سبتمبر المقبل" (in Arabic). El Watan News. 2 January 2026. ^ "الخميس إعلان استضافة السعودية «خليجي 27» في سبتمبر 2026". aawsat.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-26 . ^ "الشهادة الآسيوية للمالكي". arriyadiyah.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-12-26 .
Qatar
Saudi Arabia (hosts)
Iraq
United Arab Emirates
Oman
Bahrain (holders)
Kuwait
Yemen
