(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar played out their third successive draw in the Gulf Cup yesterday when they were held 0-0 by Bahrain at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium here but it was enough to take them through to the semi-finals - thanks in part to Saudi Arabia's 1-0 win over Yemen.
After the last round of Group A matches yesterday, Saudi Arabia top the group with seven
points and Qatar qualify with three points - Bahrain and Yemen both slip out of the competition.
Qatari coach Djamel Belmadi, however, said his side's performance was good enough and they deserved to qualify.
"We deserved to qualify despite the draw because we did not concede any goal whereas they conceded three goals (against Saudi Arabia). Our team created many chances to score but luck was not on our side in the first three matches. We will continue to rectify our mistakes in order to put up a better display in the semi-final," he said.
Looking forward to the next round, Belmadi said: "Our first target was to reach the semi-finals and we have done that. I know the semi-final will be a difficult match. So we shouldn't waste opportunities to score."
The Algerian rued the absence of his star strikers Khalfan Ibrahim and Sebastian Soria, who are not available for the tournament due to injury, but felt his side had it in them to improve.
"I am sure we will put up a much better show in the semi-final," he said.
Qatar's semi-final opponents will be decided after the Group B matches tomorrow.
Al Annabi had a goal disallowed inside the first quarter yesterday after Karim Boudiaf was ruled off-side when tapping in Hassan Khalid's cross from a free-kick.
The Maroons' Abdul Qader Ilyas then over hit his first touch in front of goal from a cross, which otherwise had him clear through, onside and with plenty of time to place his shot.
The best of Bahrain's chances came on the hour from Al Malood's pass wide on the edge of the area to Al Husaini, who struck wide.
In the other match, Saudi Arabia's Nawaf Al Abed
scored in the 28th minute to end Yemen's dream run in the tournament.
The semi-finals will be held on Sunday. As the first qualifier in Group A, the Saudis will play the second qualifier from Group B. The top side of Group B will take on Qatar in the other semi-final.
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