FIFA Arab Cup
An own goal from Bahrain keeper Ebrahim Lutfalla gave Iraq the momentum before Mohanad Ali sealed the win from inside the box.
Iraq will next meet Sudan on Saturday, with Bahrain taking on defending champions Algeria, who were held to a goalless draw by Sudan in their opening match.
It was a cagey start at Stadium 974 with both sides exchanging attacks but it was Iraq who took the lead in the 10th minute after Lutfalla bundled Aymen Hussein’s header into his own net.
Lutfalla’s evening went from bad to worse seven minutes later when he was forced off by an injury, with Omar Salem replacing him.
With Bahrain struggling to respond, Iraq dominated possession and doubled their lead in the 26th minute after Sajjad Jasim’s shot caught the boot of Ali, who controlled the ball before firing a volley past Salem - with the goal initially flagged for offside but awarded after a VAR review.
Iraq continued to call the shots with Hasan Abdulkarim forcing Salem into a save after his curling effort in the 36th minute, before Salem raced off his line and got a touch to Ali’s effort five minutes later with Amine Benaddi then scrambling to clear the ball from crossing the line.
Bahrain almost got their act together a minute later when Mohamed Marhoon drove past the Iraq right flank before seeing his shot just going wide of the left post.
Ali came close again in the 56th minute when Bahrain failed to clear a cross with the Iraq forward seeing his shot blocked by Amine Benaddi before Salem tipped the ball as far as Sayed Mahmood, who swept it away from the goalmouth.
Bahrain, however, caught Iraq napping in the 79th minute after Abdulla Al Khalasi weaved his way up the left flank before sending a pin-point cross for Sayed Hashim to finish from close range.
That, however, was as far as Bahrain got after being reduced to 10 men following Ebrahim Al Khatal’s red card for his foul on Amjed Attwan in stoppage time.
Photos: Iraq Football Association
