Basrah, Iraq: Hosts Iraq reached the Arabian Gulf Cup final after 10 years with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Qatar in the semi-final of the 25th edition of the tournament.
Backed by a vociferous 65,000 crowd at the Basra International Stadium yesterday, Iraq were made to work hard for the victory by an exuberant Qatar side, which was missing several senior players. In the final, Iraq will meet Oman on Thursday. Oman edged past defending Bahrain champions 1-0 in another semi-final after a thunderbolt strike from Jameel al-Yahmadi in the 83rd minute.
Iraq began in earnest against Qatar as Ibrahim Bayesh put them ahead in the 19th minute. The joy was, however, short-lived as Amro Siraj found the equaliser for Qatar in the 28th minute.
Aymen Hussein then put the Lions of Mesopotamia back in the lead with a goal in the 43rd minute, which proved decisive as Asian champions Qatar failed to break down the rival defence in the second half.
“I am proud of what the team has achieved here without much experience and the players should also be proud of their performance here,” Qatar’s stand-in coach Bruno Pinheiro said later.
“I think it was a competitive game, and we didn’t play badly. I think what made the difference was the fact that Iraq had one more day to recover. Tactically, when they played with the long ball, it was difficult for us. I wish luck to Iraq in the final and I want to thank the Iraqi fans for supporting us in the tournament,” the Portuguese added.
Pinheiro, who has been given the role temporarily after long-serving coach Felix Sanchez left, praised the Qatar Football Federation’s decision to field youngsters in the tournament. “According to the QFA’s vision, we accomplished our mission and we are very satisfied. As for injuries, they were not really injuries; sometimes it’s more about tiredness. A lot of these players haven’t competed in official games for a long time, and they’re playing (another game) after three days, and it’s very difficult to keep the level,” Pinheiro said.
Iraq had the first few chances with Hussein’s run on the left flank causing trouble in Qatar defence. The hosts continued to control the tempo of the game for the majority of the half, but Qatar’s Siraj eventually got a chance on goal after running past his marker, only for his effort to be ruled offside.
Moments later, Iraq took the lead after the Qatari goalkeeper couldn’t hold the ball and it laid squarely on Bayesh’s feet who couldn’t miss in an open goal. Qatar fought back and Siraj, whose first time volley found the equaliser to open up the game.
Iraq went ahead just before half-time following a Qatari defensive blunder as Amjad Attwan teed off Hussein, who chipped the ball over the goalie’s head for the goal. For the rest of the match, Iraq resorted to a high defensive line despite the Qatari threats. Long balls to striker Hussein became a frequent strategy. While the rather tall and quick striker managed to win some aerial duels, he never controlled the ball for a shot before a defender intervened.
The second half’s crossing lull was sometimes interjected by energetic Qatari counter attacks that were stopped by the Iraqi defence before even reaching the penalty box. Iraq came very close to their third goal when Attwan got a through ball on the right flank but his shot on goal from a difficult angle went just wide of the post.
Three-time champions Iraq had lost to the UAE in the 2013 Gulf Cup final and last won the title in 1988 in Saudi Arabia when they had defeated UAE. The previous two titles of Iraq came in 1984 and in 1979 when they hosted the inaugural edition of the Gulf Cup for the first time.
Source: Qatar Football Association