With the goal of Ayman Hussein.. “Lions of Mesopotamia” roars against Yemen (video)

The Iraqi national football team began its title defense campaign with a difficult victory over its Yemeni counterpart with an unanswered goal, today, Sunday, at the opening of the second group matches of “Gulf 26” currently being held in Kuwait.
The “Lions of Mesopotamia” waited until the 64th minute, for its attacker, Ayman Hussein, to score the only goal of the match after he rose to Amjad Atwan’s cross, and headed it to the left of the Yemeni goalkeeper.
The Iraqi team had controlled the course of play from the beginning, but it found great difficulties in penetrating the organized defense of the Yemeni team, which played on counter-attacks and posed danger at times, as the most prominent attempt was from a solo attempt by striker Omar Al-Dahhi, but he finished the attack with a shot far from the goal.
The “Lions of Mesopotamia” launched attacks on the Yemeni goal, but they did not rise to the level of effectiveness until the 18th minute, when Ibrahim Bayesh shot a shot from outside the box that touched the post before landing outside the field.

Ayman Hussein scores Iraq’s first goal in… #Gulf_Zain26 🦁🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/OqOKOo69CW

– Khaleeji Zain 26 (@KhaleejiZain) December 22, 2024

The Yemeni defense was brave in blocking Ayman Hussein’s shot, which he fired a few steps from the goal, and the ball turned into a corner kick.
The situation did not change much in the second half, as the Iraqi team intensified its attacking attempts and had scoring opportunities, when Ali Jassim received a pass inside the box in the absence of the Yemeni defenders and shot it in a difficult place in the goal, but goalkeeper Muhammad Aman excelled in deflecting the ball to a corner.