FIFA Arab Cup: Algeria overcome 10-man Iraq to win group

Algeria advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup as winners of Group D following Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Iraq.

Trailing the Asian team by two points ahead of their clash to finish up the group stage, a disastrous start to the match allowed Les Verts to seize the initiative and overtake their opponents to claim top spot.

Iraq were forced to play almost the entirety of the match with a numerical disadvantage after Hussein Al Saedi’s reckless challenge on Yacine Brahimi drew the attention of VAR. After a review, Al Saedi was issued a red card in the 5th minute for his high challenge.

From that point on, Iraq performed admirably despite the circumstances but a victory for the North Africans was inevitable. The Fennecs took the lead just before halftime when Yassine Benzia’s free kick service from the right wing made its way to Esperance de Tunis defender Mohamed Amine Tougai, who produced a powerful header past Iraq goalkeeper Fahad Talib.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Algeria doubled their advantage. In a calamitous moment, Brahimi’s cross from the left wing ended with Talib punching the ball off his own defender for an own goal and any hopes of a comeback were erased.

Regardless of the result, both teams advance to the quarterfinals out of the group. In the other match from the group on Tuesday, Sudan confirmed a last place finish after falling to Bahrain by a 1-3 score following a late collapse. Yaser Mozamil provided an equalizer for the Falcons to cancel out a first half goal from Bahrain, but the Gulf nation scored twice in the final fifteen minutes to secure victory.

Algeria will face United Arab Emirates in the quarterfinals on Friday. The other African participant remaining in the knockout stages, Morocco, will face Syria on Thursday.