Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hanoi: A Younus Mahmood penalty deep into second-half stoppage time helped Iraq draw 1-1 with hosts Vietnam in their FIFA World Cup 2018/AFC Asian Cup 2019 joint qualifying match on Thursday.
Le Cong Vinh drew first blood with the three-time Vietnamese Player of Year’s 27th minute strike delighting the majority of the 10,000-strong crowd at the My Dinh Stadium.
Cong Vinh’s first-half goal looked to have secured Vietnam’s second Group F win until veteran skipper Mahmood held his nerve to successfully convert from the spot seven minutes into additional time to earn a share of the spoils for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup winners.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
NEXT FIXTURES:
October 13: Vietnam v Thailand
November 12: Chinese Taipei v Iraq
Photo: AFP