Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muscat: Iraq put themselves in the Group A driving seat with a 2-0 triumph over Bahrain on Sunday which saw the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship champions record their third consecutive win in the qualifying campaign for next year’s AFC U-23 Championship.
But the Iraqis, who went into Sunday’s match at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex buoyed by wins over Lebanon (4-1) and the Maldives (7-1), where taken right to the wire by a Bahrain side that were also firmly in the reckoning for a place at Qatar 2016 after drawing with Group A hosts Oman (1-1) and defeating the Maldives (3-0).
The third match appeared to be destined for a draw with neither side able to make the breakthrough, but with six minutes left on the clock substitute Aymen Hussein gave Iraq the lead before Amjed Waleed made sure of the three points when he doubled the advantage four minutes later.
The results so far mean that Iraq only need a point from Tuesday’s final Group A encounter with Oman, while defeat to the Group A hosts will see the Gulf Sultanate book their place at next year’s continental finals and consign Iraq to a runners-up finish.
Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.