Madness in the semi-final of Cosmin Contra! His team equalized in the 90th+8th minute » What happened next
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Sunday, March 29, 2026, 9:56 p.m. / Updated Sunday, March 29, 2026 10:03 p.m.
Al-Arabthe team of the Romanian technician Cosmin Contra (50 years old), dramatically lost qualification to the final of the Qatar Cup on Sunday evening, after a crazy semi-final, in a single leg, decided on penalty kicks, score 3-4.
Al Arabi lost the match against Muaither, although they managed to equalize in the 8th minute of extra time. On penalties, however, Cosmin Contra's team missed three times, and the opposing team qualified for the final.
In the final act of the competition, Muaither will fight for the trophy with Al-Rayyan, a team that got past Umm-Salal on Saturday after a series of no less than 34 penalties. 33 penalties were converted consecutively, and only the 34th was missed, dramatically establishing the first finalist.
Cosmin Contra missed the final of the Qatar Cup
On Sunday evening, Al-Arabi, Cosmin Contra's team, quickly opened the scoring, after only 7 minutes, through Darros.
But the joy lasted only a few seconds, because in the 8th minute Ethyan Gonzalez equalized for Muaither, a team that actually took the lead in the 11th minute, thanks to the success of Fouad Saleh.
By the break, Muaither broke away through Ramis Luque, who made it 3-1, from the penalty, in the 45+7th minute.
In the second part of the meeting, the team of the Romanian technician managed to come back and equalize. Sarabia made it 3-2 in the 51st minute and the match was sent to penalty kicks in the 90+8th minute when defender Alexis Rafael Fontanilla Perez equalized for Contra's side.
On penalties, it ended 3-2 for Muaither, and Contra, who recently signed a contract extension until 2028, thus missed the chance to win the Qatar Cup with his team.
In the championship, Al-Arabi is in 6th place, with 28 points after 18 games.
