Riyadh: Iraq made it two wins from two in Group B of the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers on Friday thanks to a narrow 2-1 win over Bahrain.
After a goalless first half at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, the Iraqis, who finished third at the competition’s 2016 edition, continued the fine form they had shown during Wednesday’s comfortable 8-0 win over Afghanistan by taking the lead on 52 minutes courtesy of Amjad Attwan Kadhim’s strike.
Mazin Fayyadh Ajeel duly doubled Iraq’s lead in the 70th minute before Ali Jaafar Mohamed Madan netted a consolation goal six minutes later for a Bahrain side now unable to progress to the finals next year in China.
Iraq will meet qualifying hosts Saudi Arabia on Sunday with top spot in the group well and truly up for grabs, while Bahrain will face Afghanistan on the same day.
Source: the-afc.com