The Saudi national team achieved a valuable victory over its Iraqi counterpart with a score of 2-0, in the match that brought them together on Tuesday evening at Al-Inmaa Stadium in Jeddah, as part of the third and final round of the group stage in the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".
The Saudi national team started the match strongly, imposing clear dominance on the course of play, but they could not convert their attempts into goals during the first half, while the Iraqi national team maintained its defensive solidity, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
In the second half, the Greens continued their pressure in search of opening the scoring, until Abdullah Al Salem managed to break the Iraqi defense code in the 54th minute, giving the Saudi national team the lead and putting them in a better position during the remaining minutes of the match.
The Saudi national team was not satisfied with the first goal, as they continued their attacking attempts until Abdullah Al Hamdan managed to add the second goal in the 69th minute, to strengthen the Greens' lead and bring them closer to securing the victory.
The Iraqi national team tried to reduce the deficit in the final minutes, but the Saudi national team's defense succeeded in keeping a clean sheet, and the match ended with the Greens winning by two goals to nil.
The match statistics showed the Saudi national team's superiority in terms of possession, with their share reaching 58% compared to 42% for Iraq. The Greens' players also had 12 shots compared to 5 shots for the Iraqi national team, while the Saudi national team committed 7 fouls compared to 10 for Iraq.
With this victory, the Saudi national team finished the group stage with a perfect record, raising their tally to 9 points from three wins, securing the top spot in Group A, while Iraq's tally remained at 4 points.