The Iraqi national team was crowned, Thursday evening, the Arab Gulf Football Cup champion for the fourth time in its history, after defeating its Omani counterpart “3-2”, in a match that extended to overtime, and was decided by a fatal goal by the Lions of Mesopotamia in the last moments.
Sharjah 24 – Mahmoud Ali:
After an exciting match that extended to overtime, the Iraqi national team won the Arabian Gulf Cup title for the fourth time in its history, at the expense of its Omani counterpart, 3-2, during the final match that was held, Thursday evening, at the Basra International Stadium, in the presence of a crowd estimated at more than 80 thousand spectators.
Iraq opened the scoring through its player Ibrahim Baish in the 24th minute, and in the 90th + 10th minute, the Omani team equalized the score with a penalty kick by Salah Al Yahyai, after his colleague Jamil Al Yahmadi missed a first penalty kick that was saved by goalkeeper Jalal Hassan in the 82nd minute.
The match turned into overtime, and Iraq scored again from a penalty kick in the 116th minute through Amjad Atwan.
The Omani national team responded quickly, with the second equalizing goal in the 119th minute, through Omar Al-Maliki, making the score 2-2.
Moments before the end of the second extra period, Iraq scored a fatal goal through Manaf Younis from a header, after which the match ended with Iraq winning 3-2.
The Iraqi national team won the title in the years 1979, 1984, 1988, in addition to the current version, to regain the title that has been absent from its coffers for 35 years.