Abdulzahra stars as Iraq beat UAE in Gulf Cup

Doha, Qatar: Captain Alaa Abdulzahra stole the show, making a delightful assist for Alaa Abbas before scoring a beautiful goal himself as Iraq defeated UAE to all but ensure their place in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday.

Sercko Katanec's men have six points from the opening two games and will play Yemen in their final Group A match on Monday.  

Iraq made nine changes to the team that started against Qatar in their 2-1 victory and definitely looked stronger as was evident from their confident start.

They did not need much time to make an impact, as in the 6th minute Abdulzahra, who did not feature against Qatar, split the UAE defence with a beautiful pass into the danger area where Abbas, who also did not play in the opener, met it with a first-time angular shot into the bottom corner of UAE goal..

Even though Iraq looked in ominous form, they were lucky to have a reprieve when their goalkeeper Mohammed Farhan came out of the area to stop UAE's Ali Saleh Amro and ended up fouling him.

Referee Alexandre Boucaut opted to punish Farhan with just a yellow and the goalkeeper was then alert to Ali Mabkhout's stinging freekick which was hit straight at him.

That was the only real effort on goal for Mabkhout, who had scored a hat-trick in the match against, Yemen. 

Meanwhile Iraq, who seemed to resume from where they had left off against Qatar, soon regained their rhythm and UAE goalkeeper Mohammed Hassan Al Shamsi was called into action in the 32nd minute when Amjed Attwan tested him with a powerful shot from 25 yards out.

Al Shamsi, however, could not do much five minutes later when Abdulzahra made space for himself in UAE penalty box and headed home Ali Adnan's cross into the bottom corner.

Iraq continued to have the upper hand and could have increased the lead soon after the hour mark when Safaa Hadi Abdullah dispossessed UAE Khalfan Mubarak in the middle, allowing Iraqi substitute Mohannad Ali to break free. However, the Al Duhail SC striker's shot was straight at Al Shamsi.

Iraq had a chance to seal the match when Khalifa Mubarak fouled Mohammed Ridha inside the box and referee pointed to the spot after VAR was brought into play.

But, Al Shamsi dived to his right to stop Adnan's weak effort from the spot. It did not matter much in the end, as UAE failed to make any real impact allowing Iraq to safely negotiate the rest of the time.

Bert Van Marwijk will now be under increased pressure as UAE need to beat hosts and Asian champions Qatar to book their place in the semis.