Iraq leads Group 4 with a valuable victory over Bahrain

The Iraqi national team began its journey in the Arab Cup with a valuable victory over its Bahraini counterpart, 2-1, in the meeting that brought them together today, Wednesday, at Stadium 974 in Doha, at the end of the first round of the fourth group matches. With this victory, Iraq gained the first three points to lead the group standings, benefiting from the goalless draw between Algeria and Sudan, while the Bahraini team remained without a score.

The Bahraini team completed the match with ten players after its player Ibrahim Al-Khattal was sent off in the 94th minute following a violent intervention on Iraqi player Amjad Ali.

The Iraqi team started the match with a clear advantage in terms of technical performance, possession of the ball and reaching the goal, benefiting from the great harmony among its players. The “Lions of Mesopotamia” translated their superiority in the first half by scoring the lead goal through Ayman Hussein after only 10 minutes, from a header that took advantage of the Bahraini defense’s confusion and the goalkeeper’s mistake.

Iraq continued its pressure to score the second goal through Muhannad Ali in the 25th minute, as the referee initially canceled it before returning and awarding it after referring to the video technology (VAR).

In the second half, the Bahraini team took advantage of Iraq’s decline and pressed hard, being able to reduce the difference through Hisham Al-Sayed in the 79th minute after a cross ball landed in the net. The goal increased the excitement of the match, but the Iraqi team succeeded in maintaining its lead until the final whistle, to emerge with an important victory at the beginning of its journey in the tournament.