The bumper crowd at Basra International Stadium were treated to a high intensity start with an early effort from Ehsan Haddad from outside the box well saved by Iraq keeper Ahmed Basil.

Iraq looked to feed Ali Jasim on the right whenever possible as he gave Mohammad Abualnadi plenty of problems, with only quality on the final pass eluding the Como 1907 player.

The high-octane beginning to the game faded as the half progressed with both teams matching each other all over the pitch as they headed into the break on level terms.

Having been kept quiet in the opening half, Aymen Hussein nearly put Iraq ahead two minutes into the restart from Hussein Ali’s cross but Yazeed Abulaila came to Jordan’s rescue as the goalkeeper dived to save the header.

With 20 minutes remaining, Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami opted for the fresh legs of Ibrahim Sadeh and Mahmoud Al Mardi in place of Raja’ei Ayed and Mousa Al Tamari as the AFC Asian Cup™ 2023 runners-up went in search of a winner.

Iraq’s Jesus Casas responded by throwing on midfielder Zidane Iqbal and Youssef Amyn to add more pace to his side’s attack.

Basil was the busier of the two keepers as full-time loomed, saving efforts from Al Mardi and Mohannad Abu Taha to ensure a share of the points.

Iraq will go up against Oman in Muscat on Tuesday while another away game awaits Jordan in Ardhiyah against Kuwait.