DOHA : Al Rayyan advanced to the 2026 Qatar Cup final after beating Al Shamal 5-4 on penalties following a 3-3 draw in regulation time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday.
The match produced a six-goal contest, with Al Shamal twice taking the lead before Al Rayyan secured a dramatic late equalizer.
France forward Wesley Said opened the scoring for Al Shamal in the 27th minute, but Brazil’s Roger Guedes levelled for Al Rayyan three minutes before halftime.
Tunisia international Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane restored Al Shamal’s advantage in the 54th minute before Said added his second goal nine minutes later to put his side 3-1 ahead.
Al Rayyan responded when Guedes scored his second of the match from the penalty spot in the 74th minute.
Belgium midfielder Julien De Sart then completed Al Rayyan’s comeback in the sixth minute of stoppage time, sending the semifinal to a penalty shootout.
De Sart, Wesley Ribeiro, Ahmed Al Rawi, Guedes and Portugal’s Andre Amaro all converted their penalties for Al Rayyan. Gregore Favero was the only player to miss for his side.
For Al Shamal, Spain’s Alex Collado, Algeria’s Nassim Ben Aissa, Musab Khader and Abdelkarim Hassan found the net from the spot, while Fahad Waad and Ben Romdhane missed their attempts.
Al Rayyan will meet defending champions Al Sadd in the final on Dec. 11 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Sadd booked their place in the title decider earlier with a 2-1 victory over Al Gharafa.
The final will pit Al Rayyan against an Al Sadd side that overcame Al Gharafa to secure its place in the competition’s showpiece.
