Arabian Gulf Cup: Upbeat Qatar to Face in-form Iraq in Semifinal Clash

The clubs will face off in the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup semifinal on Monday at the 65 000-seat Basra International Stadium in Basra, Iraq, for the first time since their match on December 6, 2021.

In front of their home crowd at Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar defeated Iraq easily by a score of 3-0 to eliminate the Lions of Mesopotamia from the FIFA Arab Cup 2021.

The clubs will face off in the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup semifinal on Monday at the 65 000-seat Basra International Stadium in Basra, Iraq, for the first time since their match on December 6, 2021.

Al Annabi are conscious that playing the hosts, who had been in excellent form in front of home supporters, will provide a very different task without the seasoned three of Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, and Hassan Al Haydos who scored against Iraq in the Arab Cup.

Iraq won stunning victory against Saudi Arabia (2-0) and Yemen (5-0) to top Group A and enhance their bid for a fourth championship after playing a scoreless draw with Oman in their opening match.

Following their World Cup campaign, Qatar rested a number of its star players for the Gulf Cup, and Bruno Pinheiro's team is relying on youth to win their fourth championship.

The Asian champions advanced to the semifinals by defeating Kuwait on goal differential after both teams finished with four points each, thanks to an equaliser by Tamim Mansour against the United Arab Emirates in the 88th minute of their last Group B encounter.

Pinheiro was hoping his team would be ready for the challenging game after a “short” break following their grueling tie against the UAE on Friday. 

“I focused on recovery of players as they made a great effort [against the UAE]. I am sure it will be a tough match against Iraq and the team that will avoid mistakes will win. We are confident of our readiness from tactical perspective,” Qatar coach said on Sunday. 

“Iraq are a good team and they have great physical strength. The home support will benefit them and I am expecting a strong performance from them but we will be ready,” he added. 

Pinheiro, however, said there will be no pressure of fans on his players. 

Having lifted their maiden Gulf Cup in 2019 in Qatar, Bahrain are seeking back-to-back titles and were unbeaten while topping the Group B. They defeated UAE (2-1) and Qatar (2-1) before being held 1-1 by Kuwait.  

Oman also remained unbeaten in the group stage and were only denied the Group A top spot on goal difference as they finished level on seven points with Iraq.

The final will be played on January 19.