Algerian A’ national football team has qualified for the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025, after defeating their Iraqi counterparts 2-0 (halftime: 1-0) at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Tuesday evening, the 3rd and final matchday (Group D) of the tournament (December 1–18).
Making his return to competition, central defender Mohamed Amine Tougaï opened the scoring with a header just before halftime (45th minute), connecting to a set-piece delivered by Benzia.
The Iraqis were reduced to 10 players just four minutes into the game, following the sending-off of Al-Shorta (Iraq Division 1) midfielder Hussein Al-Saedi.
In the second half, the Algerian team managed to seal the win. Following an overlapping run by captain Yassine Brahimi, who delivered a cut-back cross that was blocked by Iraqi goalkeeper Fahd Talib. The ball deflected off defender Saad Natiq, who accidentally scored an own goal (47th minute).
In the quarter-finals, Algeria will face the United Arab Emirates on Friday, at Al-Bayt Stadium (6:30 PM Algerian time), while Iraq will take on Jordan the same day at the Education City Stadium (3:30 PM).
At the end of the final group stage matchday, Algeria topped the group with 7 points, ahead of Iraq (6 points). Bahrain came in third (3 points), while Sudan closed the group with 1 point.
The top two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals, scheduled for December 11th and 12th.
