2024-02-10T17:14:14+00:00
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/ The Iraqi national team won first place in the Asian Championship after defeating its counterpart in the final match of the 2023 Asian Football Cup hosted by the State of Qatar.
The match kicked off at 6 pm at Lusail World Cup Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The first half ended with the Qatari team leading by one goal to none. Qatar’s goal came from a penalty kick successfully executed by player Akram Afif in the 22nd minute.
In the second half, Jordan scored the equaliser in the 67th minute through Yazan Al-Naimat, and from a second penalty kick awarded to the Qatari team by the Chinese referee, Akram Afif scored Qatar’s second goal in the 73rd minute and his seventh in the tournament, securing the title of Asia’s top scorer after surpassing the number of goals scored by Iraqi player Ayman Hussein, who has 6 goals. From a third penalty kick, Qatari player Akram Afif scored a hat-trick and the third goal for Qatar in the 90+5th minute, raising his personal tally to 8 goals and flying high with the title of top scorer.
The second vice president of the Iraqi Football Association, Younis Mahmoud, presented the Asian Cup trophy before the final match between the Qatari and Jordanian national teams, after he was chosen by the tournament’s organizing committee.