Iraq and Oman qualified for the semi-finals of the 25th Gulf Cup.
Iraq crushed its Yemeni counterpart with a clean five, scored by Mustafa Nazim in the 40th minute, and Amjad Atwan in the 64th minute, before Ayman Hussein added two consecutive goals in the 74th and 75th minutes, and Hussein Ali Al-Saeedi concluded the Iraqi goals festival with a fifth goal in the 88th minute.
With this result, Iraq leads the group with seven points collected from the victory over Yemen and Saudi Arabia and the draw with Oman, while Yemen bottoms the group without points after losing its three matches in the group.
The previous confrontations between the two teams witnessed a sweeping supremacy for Iraq, as the two teams had met 19 times, Iraq won 16 of them, against two draws and one loss. The Lions of Mesopotamia scored 49 goals, while the Yemeni national team scored 10 goals.
In the framework of the matches of the same group, the Omani team defeated its Saudi counterpart with two goals to one, to qualify for the semi-finals with the Iraqi team.
The Omani team advanced with a goal signed by Al-Mundhir Rabia Al-Alawi in the 34th minute, and the Saudi team equalized in the 41st minute through Turki Al-Ammar, but Harib Al-Saadi brought the Omani team back to the lead with a goal in the 84th minute.
The Oman national team was enough for a draw only to qualify for the semi-finals, as it entered this match with four points against three points for Saudi Arabia.
The teams participating in the tournament are divided into two groups, the first includes Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman, while the second includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
Iraq and Oman are waiting for the qualifiers from the second group, for which the third and final round matches will be held tomorrow, with two decisive confrontations between Bahrain and Kuwait, and Qatar and the Emirates.
Two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held according to the knockout system.
This is the second time that Iraq has hosted this tournament, after the 1979 edition, which was held in the capital, Baghdad.