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Iraq beat UAE by a solitary goal

A late goal scored by UAE's defender Waleed Abbas into his own net four minutes into the injury time, helped Iraq to maintain their first win in the AFA National Teams Cup currently organized by Qatar. The match which was played tonight at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium at Alrayyan Club in Doha, was heading towards a draw before Iraq's striker Younis Mahmoud sent the ball from the right flank in front of the mouth of the goal for Waleed Abbas who tried to clear it away, but for his bad fortune he deflected the ball into the net. This victory put the UAE team in 3rd place in group "D" with a lone point while Iraq strengthened their hopes taking runners-up position with three points and they will conclude their preliminary stage matches when they take on North Korea next Thursday. Iraq lost their opening game 1-2 to Iran for the latter to top the standings with full mark following their tonight's win over North Korea by a solitary goal. Iran have secured themselves a berth in the quarterfinals irrespective of the result of their third match against UAE team.

Both teams UAE and their rivals Iraq, played one of the best matches in the championship so far. The game was marred by brilliant and thrilling display with both squads came close to score in many occasions, but their front liners squandered all the chances that came their way. The upright deprived the UAE's defender Hamdan Al Kamali of scoring the first goal of the match in the 23rd minute. Subait Khatir also launched a fierce shot ten minutes later but was controlled by the Iraqi custodian Mohammed Kazim. The Iraqi midfielder Nashat Akram lost two sitters six minutes before the break when the UAE's goalkeeper Majid Nasir saved his shot bravely before being cleared by a defender and in the second occasion Akram's perfect header rebounded off the cross bar a few seconds later. His teammate Qusai Monir also came close to score but his long-range volley hit the upright three minutes before half time. Ismail Al Hamadi lost a similar chance in the 63rd minute when his lovely shot rebounded off the cross bar and Ahmad Khalil lost another sitter five minutes later. The UAE's coach Katanec made some substitutes in the last minutes but the team failed to score including midfielder Subait Khatir who had a head injury..