Iraq and the story of the third Gulf title

The 18th of March 1988 was a special date for the Iraqi national team. The sons of Al-Rafidain won the title of the ninth Gulf Cup which was held in Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the late Amo Baba for the third time in history.

The title came after the Iraqi national team defeated the Bahrain national team on the last day of the tournament, with the goal of Laith Hussein, to succeed in winning the title at the expense of their opponent, the Emirates national team, who came second by two points.

 

 

The Iraqi national team began its tournament with a positive draw with Oman with one goal for each, then a one-goal victory over Kuwait, and another draw against the Emirates (0-0), before scoring two consecutive victories, the first against Qatar with three clean, and the other with two clean goals against Saudi Arabia, before winning the title with one goal against Bahrain in the last match.

Iraq scored its third historic title after the fourth Gulf Cup in 1979, and the Gulf 7 title in 1984. Their player Ahmed Radi won the tournament’s top scorer award equally with Emirati Zuhair Bakhit with four goals. Their player Habib Jaafar was chosen as the best player in the tournament.