زيدان يقود العراق لتخطّي إندونيسيا

The Iraqi national team succeeded in achieving victory over Indonesia with a score of 1-0 in the match held at the "Al-Inma" Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, as part of the second round of the second group in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The match remained goalless until the 76th minute when Zidane Iqbal managed to score the precious winning goal for the Iraqi team, which finished with 10 players after defender Zaid Tahseen was sent off in the ninth minute of stoppage time in the second half, due to receiving a second yellow card.

Both teams shared control of the game from the start, with Iraq taking the first offensive initiative when Ibrahim Bayesh shot a free kick that was cleared by the defense. Thum Hai responded with a shot from outside the penalty area that went past the post. The attacks continued from both teams when Indonesian Mauro Ziglistra jumped for a ball inside the penalty area and headed it just wide of the post, while Bayesh shot from outside the penalty area that went safely outside the three posts.

Iraq's coach Graham Arnold brought on both Youssef Ayman and Zidane Iqbal at the beginning of the second half, while Ragnar Oratmangun and Oli Romining joined the Indonesian team in an effort to change the course of the performance and the result. Substitute Youssef Ayman shot from inside the penalty area but it went outside the three posts, while Jalal Hassan, the Iraqi goalkeeper, saved Kevin Dicks' shot that came from inside the penalty area.

From an individual effort, substitute Zidane Iqbal managed to score the first goal for Iraq with a low, creeping shot from outside the penalty area that settled in the left corner of the Indonesian goal (76th minute).

After the goal, the "Red" intensified its attempts in hopes of reaching Jalal Hassan's goal, while the Iraqi team relied on counter-attacks in the final minutes, and Youssef Ayman nearly doubled the score when he shot from inside the penalty area, but the goalkeeper Martin Pais saved it.

The referee showed the second yellow card and then the red card to Iraqi defender Zaid Tahseen, while the minutes passed without any change in the score until the final whistle confirmed Iraq's victory.

With this result, Iraq achieves its first victory and collects 3 points, while Saudi Arabia tops the group standings with 3 points from one match, ahead of Iraq on goal difference, while Indonesia remains without points after playing two matches. The third (and final) round will take place on Tuesday, where the Saudi team will meet the Iraqi team. The Saudi team has two chances to win or draw to qualify directly for the World Cup, while the Iraqi team must win if it wants to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup finals.

The team finishing first in each of the first and second groups will qualify for the World Cup finals, while the teams finishing second will move on to play in the knockout round of the Asian qualifiers to determine the team that qualifies for the global event.