Iraq needed nothing less than a win to qualify to the next round but it was Kuwait who struck first through Alrasheedi for their first goal of the campaign in the 12th minute. 

Fawwaz Alembailesh picked up the ball on the left and superbly found his unmarked teammate, who made no mistake from the middle of the box to put his side ahead.

The goal left Iraq huffing and puffing for an equaliser while Kuwait utilised counter-attacks and were awarded a penalty in the 26th minute when the lively Yousef was  brought down inside the box.

The number seven, however, failed to convert from the spot, blasting his shot over the bar to give Iraq a lifeline. 

Iraq continued to press ahead in numbers but their bluntness in the final third was glaringly evident when Hasan Abdulkareem, despite being under no pressure, wasted two chances - first missing a close range header before firing his shot over the bar from just outside the six yard box.

Miroslav Soukup’s team finally capitalised on a mistake from Kuwait in the 35th minute when goalkeeper Abdulrahman Alfadhly failed to hold on to a cross that fell kindly in the path of Mohammed, who calmly slotted home.

As the intense first half came to a close, the pressure was clearly on 2013 champions Iraq to hit the ground running in the final 45 minutes as their knockout stage fate was on the line. 

Kuwait goalkeeper Abdulrahman was called into action early in the second half, turning a header from Iraq captain Wakaa Ramadhan over the bar before blocking his acrobatic bicycle kick attempt. 

Iraq launched wave after wave of attacks inside Kuwait’s box and a moment of brilliance from Ogaili gave his team the lead a minute before the hour mark, the number eight finding space on the left, before superbly lobbing the ball over Abdulrahman.

Wakaa put the ball in the net again in the 62nd minute but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) overturned the goal for a foul, much to the frustration of the Iraqi team.

Iraq, however, finally had the cushion of a third goal with less than 10 minutes to play when central defender Albaqer’s header from an Ogaili corner left Kuwait goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

With the other Group B match ending with Australia defeating Jordan 1-0, the result meant Iraq finished second in the group to set up a quarter-final with Uzbekistan.