UAE 2 IRAQ 0
UAE - Ali Mabkhout 50', 62'
The UAE will meet Saudi Arabia for a chance to be in the final of the Gulf Cup on Sunday after booking their place in the last four with a 2-0 win over Iraq on Thursday night.
Ali Mabkhout struck twice in the second half to help the defending champions finish second in Group B behind Oman, who stunned 10-time champions Kuwait 5-0 in the other match through a hat-trick from Saeed Salem and a double by Abdulaziz Al Muqbali.
Going into the final round of group matches, Kuwait looked the best-placed with four points from their two matches, but Oman scored twice before the break – in the 44th minute and in added time – and then struck a third three minutes after the resumption.
The flurry of goals in the other game meant the UAE needed three points against Iraq to finish ahead of Kuwait and Mabkhout struck twice within the space of 11 minutes to get the job done for the Emiratis. It was an impressive turnaround by Mabkhout and the UAE after an insipid first half, which saw little activity at either end. There was an engrossing battle in the middle of the pitch, though, with Iraq managing to blunt UAE’s most potent weapon, Omar Abdulrahman.
Saif Salman stuck to the Emirati No 21 like a leech and was not shy of using a bit of force to get his job done.
With Mahdi Ali preferring to give Majed Hassan his first start of the tournament ahead of Amer Abdulrahman, Al Ain star Omar Abdulrahman was missing his partner in the creativity department and had to wage a lone battle.
Despite tight marking by the Iraqis, Abdulrahman did enough to give UAE a clear edge in the midfield.
The Whites had 18 attacks to Iraq’s 11 in the opening session, but the attacking trio of Ismail Al Hammadi, Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil looked a bit jaded on the night.
Al Hammadi, usually one of the most active men on the pitch, was surprisingly subdued and his lone contribution of the first half was a through ball for Mabkhout in the 31st minute, but the Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan charged out to collect the ball before the UAE striker could get to it.
At the start of the second session, Mahdi Ali tried to generate some life into the UAE’s sloppy attack by replacing Al Hammadi with Mohammed Abdulrahman and sending out Habib Fardan for Khamis Esmail, who had picked up a booking in the seventh minute.
Fardan made an impact almost immediately, finding Mabkhout with an excellent pass through the green shirts in the 50th minute and the Al Jazira striker blasted home from outside the box to break the deadlock.
With Oman leading Kuwait 2-0 at half-time and adding a third three minutes into the second session, the UAE desperately needed that goal, and a win, to make sure they finished ahead of the Kuwaitis on the points table.
Mabkhout then struck the insurance in the 61st minute, with Khalil playing provider.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
