DOHA (Qatar): Bahrain overcame Iraq 5-3 in the penalties to book their berth in the final of 24th Arab Gulf Cup here at the Al Duhail Stadium on Thursday evening.
Bahrain will take on Saudi Arabia, who defeated Qatar 1-0, in the final on Sunday (December 8).
The tie-breaker was resorted to after the match ended 2-2 in the regulation period which saw an intense fight to seal a place in the final.
Substitute Ali Jafar scored from the spot in the tie-breaker as Bahrain beat the three-time champions.
The Lions of Mesopotamia had taken the lead twice, but Bahrain came back on each occasion and celebrated when Jafar found the net after Mohamed Qasim missed the fourth kick for Iraq.
This is the fifth time that Bahrain has qualified for the regional competition’s final.
Mohamed Hardan, Jassim Al Shaikh, Mohamed Marhoon and Thiago Fernandes also scored in the tie-breaker for Bahrain while Ali Atiyah, Dhurgham Al Quraishi, and Ibrahim Bayesh converted for Iraq.
