JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Iraq beat Kuwait 3-2 on Saturday to strengthen their chances of reaching the semi-finals of the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup after a late winner in their Group A match at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium.
Zidan Iqbal put Iraq ahead in the 52nd minute before Kuwait’s Yousef Nasser equalised from the penalty spot in the 75th.
Saif Rasheed restored Iraq’s lead in the 83rd minute, but Nasser struck again in the 90th to level the score.
Karar Nabil then scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to give Iraq all three points.
The victory took Iraq to four points from two matches, temporarily putting them top of Group A, one point ahead of Saudi Arabia, who were playing Oman later on Saturday. Oman had one point before that match
The top two teams in the group will advance to the semi-finals.
Kuwait remain without a point and have been eliminated from the tournament regardless of the result of their final group match against Oman.
Iraq’s late victory leaves them in a strong position to secure one of the two semi-final places, while the remaining qualification battle will depend on the outcome of the other Group A matches.
