RELIVE: Saudi Arabia v Iraq (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers – Playoffs)

Leaders-Mena magazine provided a live coverage for Tuesday’s game between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

 

Fulltime: Saudi Arabia 0-0 Iraq

Yellow cards:
Merchas Doski, Zidane Iqbal (Iraq)
Hassan Tambakti, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Saud Abdulhamid (Saudi Arabia)

 

 

Lineups:

Saudi Arabia: Nawaf Al-Aqidi; Saud Abdulhamid, Jehad Thakri, Hassan Tambakti, Ayman Yahya (Nawaf Al-Boushal 71); Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Musab Al-Juwayr (Abdulelah Al-Amri 80), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Saad Al-Mousa 89); Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan (Saleh Al-Shehri 89), Saleh Abu Al-Shamat (Abdullah Al-Hamdan 71)

Iraq: Jalal Hassan; Hussein Ali (Frans Putros 55), Rebin Sulaka, Merchas Doski, Manaf Younis (Ali Hashim 79); Kevin Yakob (Ali Jasim 46), Ibrahim Bayesh, Amir Al-Ammari, Zidane Iqbal (Aimar Sher 61); Youssef Amyn (Hasan Abdulkareem 79), Mohanad Ali

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90+6′ Referee blows his whistle ending the game.

90+5′ Saud Abdulhamid gets a yellow card.

90+5′ WHAT A SAVE! Ali Jasim stands over the resulting free kick from long range and fires a shot towards the left side of the goal, but the goalkeeper pulls off a stunning save to deny him.

90+4′ Rebin Sulaka wins a free kick for Iraq in the attacking half.

90+3′ Saudi Arabia captain Salem Al-Dawsari dribbles his way to the edge of the box and drills a shot towards the middle of the goal, but Jalal Hassam is equal to the effort and makes a good save.

90′ The fourth official signals 5 minutes of added time.

89′ Double subs for Saudi Arabia: Saad Al-Mousa replaces Nasser Al-Dawsari; Saleh Al-Shehri comes in for Firas Al-Buraikan.

87′ Salem Al-Dawsari wins a free kick for the Saudis on the left wing.

83′ Iraq’s Merchas Doski tries to latch onto a through ball, but it’s too long. It’s a throw-in for Saudi Arabia.

80′ Substitution for Saudi Arabia: Abdulelah Al-Amri comes in for Musab Al-Juwayr

79′ Substitution for Iraq: Ali Hashim replaces injured Manaf Younis; Hasan Abdulkareem comes in for Youssef Amyn

78′ A precise short pass from Musab Al-Juwayr releases Nawaf Al-Boushal in space inside the box, but he smashes a wild shot high over the bar.

76′ Iraq’s Mohanad Ali wriggles into space and fires the ball from the edge of the area, but one of the defenders is there to block the effort.

71′ Substitution for Saudi Arabia: Abdullah Al-Hamdan replaces injured Abu Al-Shamat; Nawaf Al-Boushal comes in for Ayman Yahya

68′ Saleh Abu Al-Shamat picks up an injury.

66′ Iraq’s Youssef Amyn is picked out by one of his teammates with a brilliant long-range cross, but he doesn’t control the ball well and the defence eliminates the danger without any problem.

64′ A neat pass is well received by Nasser Al-Dawsari, who is lurking on the edge of the box and strikes the ball towards the middle of the target. The goalkeeper makes a decent save to block his shot.

61′ Substitution for Iraq: Aimar Sher comes in for Zidane Iqbal

61′ Ali Jasim wins a free kick for Iraq on the right wing.

57‘ Salem Al-Dawsari receives a nice lofted pass and rips a snap shot from the edge of the box. His kick misses the goal and flies high over the crossbar.

55′ Substitution for Iraq: Frans Putros replaces Hussein Ali.

55′ Salem Al-Dawsari runs with the ball towards the keeper and pulls the trigger from close range, but keeper Jalal Hassan anticipates his intention and makes an amazing save to stop the shot going into the left side of the target.

52′ Munaf Younus wins a free kick for Iraq in the defensive half.

51′ Musab Al-Juwayr unleashes a shot towards the goal, but his effort isn’t precise at all and it flies high over the bar.

50′ Saudi Arabia win a free kick in their defensive half.

47′ Saud Abdulhamid capitalizes on Al-Buraikan’s cross with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, but it goes high and wide to the left

46′ Second half is underway.

46′ Substitution for Iraq: Ali Jasim comes in for Kevin Yakob.

Halftime

45+3′ First half ends.

45+2′ Nasser Al-Dawsari receives a yellow card for a bad foul.

45′ The fourth official shows 2 minutes of added time.

44′ Abdullah Al-Khaibari finds himself some space, looks up but sends a dreadful shot high over the bar from long range.

39′ Saudi Arabia’s Hassan Tambakti gets a yellow cards for a bad foul.

39′ Iraq’s Bayesh attempts to send a pass but the Saudi defense blocks his effort.

36′ Musab Al-Juwayr sets himself up on the edge of the box, but balloons his shot way over the bar.

35′ Saudi Arabia win a free kick from a dangerous position.

32′ Salem Al-Dawsari receives a good pass just outside the box, unleashes a strike from a promising position, but the shot is blocked by a defender.

30′ Saudi Arabia skipper Salem Al-Dawsari tries to send a pass from the right flank, but it’s blocked.

27′ Zidane Iqbal is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

25′ Iraq’s Ibrahim Bayesh capitalizes on Youssef Amyn’s cross with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, but the Saudi defense heroically blocks the shot.

23′ Throw-in for Iraq in the half of Saudi Arabia.

21′ Youssef Amyn wins a free kick for Iraq on the right wing.

19′ Musab Al-Juwayr attempts to beat the opposition’s defence with a fine lofted pass into the penalty box, but one of the defenders reacts well and averts the threat.

17′ Iraq’s Merchas Doski gives the referee no choice but to show him a yellow card.

14′ Abu Al-Shamat latches on to a precise cross on the right edge of the box and strikes the ball goalwards, but it goes just over the crossbar.

12′ Referee Adham Makhadmeh blows his whistle after Iraq’s Amir Al Ammari kicks an opponent’s legs instead of the ball. A free kick has been awarded to Saudi Arabia in the attacking half.

10′ Handball by Iraq’s Kevin Yakob.

8′ Saleh Abu Al-Shamat wins a free kick for the Saudis on the left wing.

7′ The green Falcons are in control of play, exchanging passes, still they can’t penetrate the Iraqi defense.

5′ Firas Al-Buraikan stops his forward run after being caught offside by the linesman.

4′ Saud Abdulhamid wins a free kick for the Saudis on the right wing.

1′ The referee blows his whistle and the first half is underway.

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18:00 Possible lineups:

Saudi Arabia: Al-Aqidi; Boushal, Thakri, Al-Tambakti, Al-Harbi; Al-Khaibari, N. Al-Dawsari; Al-Shamat, Al-Juwayr, S. Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan.

Iraq: Hassan; Ali, Younis, Sulaka, Doski; Bayesh, Iqbal, Al-Ammari, Rasan; Karim, Ali.

17:00 On the other hand, Iraq, led by coach Graham Arnold, are in strong form and aiming for a historic qualification after dominating their qualifying group with six wins, scoring 17 goals, and conceding only twice. However, they will be without defender Zaid Tahseen due to suspension and striker Aymen Hussein is doubtful due to injury.

16:00 In a huge blow to the Green Falcons, midfielder Mohamed Kanno will miss the crucial tie against Iraq after he was sent off in stoppage time against Indonesia. In addition, talented winger Abdel-Rahman Al-Oboud was also ruled out due to a muscular injury.

15:00 Saudi Arabia national football coach Herve Renard, has delivered a powerful statement ahead of the decisive Asian World Cup 2026 playoff against Iraq, describing the upcoming fixture as the most important game of his entire coaching career.

14:00 The Green Falcons boast a formidable record against Iraq, emerging triumphant in 12 of their 37 encounters and drawn 7. Buoyed by home advantage and seasoned expertise, the Arabian Falcons aim to secure their World Cup qualification in front of a fervent Jeddah crowd.

13:00 Both teams enter the clash level on points after victories over Indonesia, though Saudi Arabia holds a slight edge in goals scored as Herve Renard’s men claimed a 3-2 victory, while Iraq managed a narrow 1-0 win. A draw will be enough for the hosts to advance, while Iraq must win to reach the finals for the first time since 1986.

 

Venue: Alinma Stadium (Jeddah)

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Check the match preview Here.