Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muscat: AFC U-22 Championship winners Iraq picked up the point they needed to advance to the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship finals, but they had to survive a late fightback from Oman who scored twice in the space of a minute in a dramatic climax to Tuesday’s 2-2 top-of-the-table clash.
Needing a win to leapfrog Iraq to the top of the Group A standings, things couldn’t have started much worse for the home side with an own goal from Oman skipper Nadir Awadh Bait Mabrook gifting Iraq the lead with just three minutes played.
The error from the Oman defender was all that separated the two sides until two minutes after the restart when Mahdi Kamil doubled Iraq’s advantage.
The Al Shorta midfielder’s second of the qualifiers following his strike in the 7-1 hammering of the Maldives looked to have put Iraq in a very comfortable position with Oman needing to score three times to usurp Yahya Alwan’s side and take the ticket to next year’s continental finals.
That target was becoming less and less likely as the clock at the at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex ticked down but with two minutes left to play Oman incredibly scored twice in the space of a minute with Saud Al Farsi’s penalty and a strike from substitute Anwar Khasib Al Hinaai drawing the home side level.
However, Oman were unable to find the crucial third goal in what little time remained with the share of the spoils seeing Iraq top the table with ten points from four matches, two more than Group A runners-up Oman.
Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.
The final group winner and the complete line up of best second-place finishers will only be confirmed after the conclusion of Group B of the qualifiers, which features Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan as well as hosts Pakistan.
Group B was scheduled to take place in Lahore at Lahore’s Punjab Stadium from March 23 to 31 has been postponed due to security concerns following the recent troubles in the Youhanabad area of the city.
A decision on an alternative venue and schedule for Group B will be announced in due course.