Action during the match between Iraq and Sudan.
Doha, Qatar: Iraq left it late to beat Sudan 2-0 in their Group D tie to advance to the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 knockout stage yesterday.
Iraq - with two wins - are assured of a top two finish and face Algeria on Tuesday while Sudan - on one point - face Bahrain.
Iraq, who edged Bahrain 2-1 in their opening fixture, opted to rest their stars Mohanad Ali and Aymen Hussein against a Sudan side who looked sharper from the start at Stadium 974.
John Mano slipped a neat through ball for Mohamed Abdelrhman in the second minute, but his run into the box was stopped by charging Iraq keeper Ahmed Basil.
Sudan had another narrow miss with Abdelrhman pulling his shot just wide of the left post with the forward tormenting the Iraq defence 10 minutes later, only to send his effort high over the bar.
Despite playing in patches, it was Iraq who had the only shot on target in the half with Zaid Ismael firing his effort from distance, but it went straight at Sudan keeper Mohamed Alnour.
Iraq showed their aggressive side after the break with Hussein Ali’s 52nd minute effort sailing just wide of the left post.
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold - in an attempt to fire his side up - made a triple substitution just before the hour mark, bringing on Ali, Mustafa Saadoon and Amjed Attwan into the mix.
And the plan almost came to fruition six minutes later after Sudan’s defence was stretched with Hasan Abdulkarim slipping through the right to set up Ali for a simple finish into an unattended goalmouth, only for the goal to be ruled offside.
The breakthrough finally came for Iraq in the 81st minute after Ali reacted quickest to a poor clearance following Abdulkarim’s free-kick, driving the ball into the back of the net.
Attwan doubled Iraq’s lead three minutes later when he collected Ali Jasim’s pass at the edge of the box and finishing with a sublime strike into the bottom left corner to confirm Iraq’s spot in the next round.
Speaking after the match, Attwan said the team's performance in both games was good and their primary objective is to discover good talent ahead of next year's World Cup.
"From the beginning, we said this team was here to discover players, not to chase titles at any cost. The coach wanted to give opportunities. There are four or five experienced players with us, but the majority are young. Even those who have been around the national team before did not get a full chance. I believe these two matches gave them that opportunity and allowed the coach to see them closely. We hope this tournament will be successful for us and that, God willing, it will help us on our way to the World Cup," Attwan said.
