Live Action: Iraq v Saudi Arabia (26th Arabian Gulf Cup, 3rd Round)
Leaders-Mena magazine will provide a live coverage of Saturday’s game between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the final round of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup group stage.
Fulltime: Iraq 1-3 Saudi Arabia
Scorers: Mohanad Ali 64′ / Salem Al-Dawsari 57′ (pen), Abdullah Al Hamdan 82′, 86′
Yellow cards:
Mustafa Saadoon, Marko Farj (Iraq)
Nawaf Al-Boushal, Abdullah Rdif, Nasser Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia)
Fulltime
90+10′ Second half ends.
90+9′ Ali Jasim’s right-footed shot from outside the box goes wide to the left
90+8′ Corner kick for Saudi Arabia on the right side.
90+7′ Goal kick for Saudi Arabia.
90+6′ Substitution for Saudi Arabia: Saad Al-Mousa replaces Musab Al-Juwayr
90+5′ Corner kick for Iraq on the right side
90+4′ Offside for Iraq
90+2′ WHAT A SAVE! Mohammed Al-Owais produces a brilliant save to deny Iraq from scoring
90+1′ Corner kick for Saudi Arabia
90′ The fourth official announces 9 minutes of added time
88′ Iraq’s Marko Farji gets a yellow card for a bad foul.
(GOAL) Abdullah Al-Hamdan converts Salem Al-Dawsari’s through ball following a fast break with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner
86′ GOOAAAL… Saudi Arabia add the third
85′ Double subs for Iraq: Ali Yousif replaces Aymen Hussein; Amin Al-Hamawi comes in for Ali Adnan
85′ Corner kick for Iraq on the left side
(GOAL) Al-Hamddan conects with Al-Ghannam’s cross with a left-footed shot from the right side of the box to the top left corner.
82′ GOOAAAL.. Saudi Arabia double the score
81′ Throw in for Saudi Arabia on the right wing
78′ Throw in for Iraq on the left side of the defensive half
77′ Salem Al-Dawsari wins a free kick on the right side of the defensive half
75′ Corner kick for Iraq on the right side
71′ Double subs for Saudi Arabia: Abdullah Al-Hamdan replaces Abdullah Radif; Awn Al-Saluli replaces Nasser Al-Dawsari
70′ Goal kick for Saudi Arabia
69′ Throw in for Iraq in the defensive half
66′ Abdullah Radif is caught offside
66′ Substitution for Iraq: Zidane Iqbal comes in for Amir Al-Ammari
(GOAL) Mohanad Ali connects with Aymen Hussein’s headed pass with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
64′ GOOAAAL.. Iraq equalize
64′ Iraq win a free kick in the defensive half
62′ Nasser Al-Dawsari gets a yellow card for a bad foul
60′ WHAT A SAVE! Salem Al-Dawsari forces Iraq’s goalkeeper Jalal Hassan to produce a brilliant save to block his right-footed shot from outside the box
59′ Double subs for Iraq: Ali Jasim replaces Mustafa Sadoon; Marko Farji comes in for Ahmed Maknzi.
(GOAL) Al-Dawsari converts the penalty with a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner.
57′ GOOAAAL.. Salem Al-Dawsari scores for Saudi Arabia from the spot
55′ After VAR check, the referee awards Saudi Arabia a penalty kick
53′ Abdullah Rdif gets a yellow card.
51′ Nasser Al-Dawsari wins a free kick for the Saudis on the left wing
50′ Sultan Al-Ghannam converts Abdulelah Hawsawi’s cross with a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes too high.
49′ Salem Al-Dawsari wins a free kick on the left wing
48′ Amir Al-Ammari strikes the ball with his left foot from the left side of the box, but it goes above the bar
46′ Second half begins
Halftime
45+5′ First half ends.
45+3′ Iraq’s Mohanad Ali is ruled offside
45+2′ Throw in for Iraq on the left side of the defensive half
45′ The fourth official announces 5 minutes of added time
44′ Amjad Attwan wins a free kick for Iraq in the defensive half
43′ Throw in for Saudi Arabia on the right side of the attacking half
42′ Goal kick for Saudi Arabia.
39′ Saudi Arabia’s Nawaf Al-Boushal gets a yellow card for a bad foul
38′ Hand ball by Nasser Al-Dawsari
37′ Substitution for Saudi Arabia: Abdulelah Hawsawi replaces injured Abdulelah Al-Malki
35′ Delay in match because of an injury to Abdulelah Al-Malki
34′ Iraq’s Mohanad Ali is caught offside
33′ Corner kick for Iraq on the right side
32′ Throw in for Saudi Arabia on the left side of the attacking half
30′ Aymen Hussein’s right-footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner
30′ Saudi Arabia win a throw-in on the right side of the defensive half
28′ Throw in for Iraq ion the right side of the attacking half
26′ Ibrahim Bayesh’s header from the centre of the box goes too high.
25′ Amir Al-Ammari wins a free kick in the attacking half
24′ Throw in for the Saudis on the left side of their attacking half
23′ Throw in for Iraq
21′ Iraq’s Mustafa Saadoon gets a yellow card for a bad foul
20′ Saudi Arabia win a free kick in their defensive half.
19′ Goal kick for Iraq
14′ WHAT A CHANCE! Salem Al-Dawsari sends a precise through following a fast break to Al-Juwyer on the right flank, but his right-foot shot from close range misses to the right.
13′ Saudi Arabia win a free kick close to the center of the field.
10′ Saudi Arabia win a corner kick on the right side.
9′ Foul for the Green Falcons
7′ Corner kick for Iraq from the left side.
7′ Throw in for Saudi Arabia on the left side of their defensive half
5′ Throw in for Iraq in their attacking half.
5′ Goal kick for Saudi Arabia
3′ Corner kick for Iraq on the right side
2′ Throw in for Iraq on the right side of the attacking half
1′ Foul for Saudi Arabia in their defensive half.
1′ First half begins.
Lineups:
Iraq: Jalal Hassan – Mustafa Saadoon, Manaf Younis, Ali Faez, Ali Adnan – Ahmed Maknzi, Amjad Attwan, Ibrahim Bayesh – Aymen Hussein, Mohanad Ali, Amir Al-Ammari
Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Al-Owais – Nawaf Al-Boushal, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ali Al-Bulayhi, Hassan Tambakti – Abdulelah Al-Malki, Mohammed Kanno, Nasser Al-Dawsari – Musab Al-Juwayr, Abdullah Radif, Salem Al-Dawsari
15:00 French coach Hervé Renard emphasized the significance of Saudi Arabia’s “challenging and crucial” upcoming match against Iraq, pledging to regain the confidence of Saudi fans following a less-than-ideal start to the tournament. “The Saudi fans consistently support the national team,” Renard stated during the pre-match press conference. “Although we did not begin the tournament at our usual level, we will strive to bring the Saudi national team back to its normal situation.
“I concentrate solely on football, analyzing matches and players’ performances daily to achieve our objectives,” Renard concluded.
14:00 Iraq hold a narrow edge in their head-to-head clashes against Saudi Arabia, winning 18 of 36 encounters across all competitions. However, the Green Falcons have managed 11 victories, while seven matches ended in draws. Their latest meeting came in January 2023, with Iraq securing a 2-0 triumph in the group stage of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.
13:00 The Green Falcons enter the game following a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Yemen, while the Lions of Mesopotamia aim to recover from a 2-0 defeat to Bahrain, who already secured a semifinal spot.
12:00 Saudi Arabia will take on Iraq in in the final Group B game of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, with both sides vying for a victory to secure a berth in the tournament semifinals.
Venue: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium (Kuwait)
Referee: István Kovács (Romania)
Check the match preview here
