São Paulo – The Iraqi national football team is yet to win a match in the second phase of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, which will be played in Brazil. In a match played this Tuesday (13th) in Doha, Qatar, the team coached by the Brazilian Zico ended up in a tie with the Omani team.
The home field advantage was Iraq’s, but the match was played in Doha due to a ruling of the International Football Federation (Fifa). The Omani team scored first, eight minutes into the game. Iraq tied at 37 minutes of the first half with a penalty kick. Zico’s team attacked for the most part of the match, but Oman was closer to scoring with its counterattacks.
The result made the group B competition for a slot in the World Cup more confusing. The first-place team is Japan, with seven points. Oman, Australia and Iraq have two points each, but Zico’s team and the Australians have played two games each, one less than Oman. Jordan, with two matches played, is the lowest ranking team, with one point. The next qualifier match for Zico’s team will be in September against Japan.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
