West News Wire: After defeating Qatar 2-1 in the semifinals, the hosts Iraq advanced to the Arabian Gulf Cup final.
At the Basra International Stadium on Monday, Iraq took the lead through Ibrahim Bayesh in the 19th minute before Qatar tied the score through Amro Surag 10 minutes later.
Iraq’s Aymen Hussein scored the game-winning goal two minutes before halftime to guarantee the hosts’ passage to their sixth final in the biennial competition.
On Thursday, the three-time Gulf Cup champions Iraq will play Oman in the championship match.
Oman defeated Bahrain 1-0 to go to the championship game.
Jameel al-goal Yahmadi’s in the 83rd minute propelled Oman into their fifth championship game.
Following his team’s elimination from the tournament, Qatar’s coach Bruno Miguel Pinheiro said he was satisfied with his players’ performance, adding that the Maroons’ showing may have been affected by fatigue.
“We appeared well during the four matches we played,” the Portuguese coach said after the match in Basra.
Pinheiro said it was a good learning curve for his young side, acknowledging that Iraq took their chances well and were the more clinical of the two teams.
