"Mesopotamia Lions" fear Qatar's surprises in the "Gulf 25" semi-finals

The "39-year complex" is Iraq's bet to overtake "Al-Annabi"

Iraq reached the semi-finals of the "Gulf 25", leading the first group.

From the source

The Iraqi national team hopes to continue its historical superiority over its Qatari counterpart when the two teams meet in the semi-finals of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup at 5:15 pm at Basra International Stadium, as the "Mesopotamia Lions" are betting on not losing to "Al-Annabi" in the Gulf Cup 39 years ago. .

Qatar achieved victory over Iraq with two goals to one in the "Gulf 7" that was held in Amman 1984, while after that the two teams met six times during which the "Mesopotamia Lions" won four matches and the two teams tied twice.

The Iraqi national team is armed with the expected large public presence of its supporters at the Basra International Stadium, which can accommodate 65,000 fans, as the fans played a major role in leading the "Lions of Mesopotamia" to the first group with seven points after the team tied with Oman and won over both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Although Iraq is the most prominent and strongest candidate, it is anticipating any surprises from the Qatari team, although the latter is participating in the second team, as any mistake in the knockout matches cannot be compensated.

Iraq is seeking to qualify for the final for the first time since “Gulf 21” in Bahrain, which witnessed its loss against “Al-Abyad” 2-1, while today’s confrontation with Qatar is the penultimate step towards achieving the title absent from the team since 1988, as Iraq won the title three times in 1979. 984 and 1988.

On the other hand, Qatar will enter the meeting with high spirits after passing the group stage despite playing the tournament with the reserve team, as it came second in the second group after beating Kuwait, losing to Bahrain and drawing against Al-Abyad.

Al-Annabi hopes to qualify for the final for the first time since 2014, when it won the title for the third time in its history, by defeating Saudi Arabia with two goals to one in the version that was held in Riyadh.

• 6 previous confrontations between Iraq and Qatar in the Gulf Cup, "Lions of Mesopotamia" won 4 and tied twice.

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