Iraq edged Kuwait 3-2 in a breathless top-of-the-table clash at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium on Saturday, a result in the second round of the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27" that officially knocked Kuwait out at the first-round stage.
The second half was pure footballing madness. Zidane Iqbal opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, latching onto Ali Jasim's pass inside the box and hammering a powerful shot into the net.
Kuwait hit back through Yousef Nasser, who slotted a 74th-minute penalty straight down the middle. Iraq then swung it their way again when Saif Rashid conjured a superb backheel in the 83rd minute.
Nasser thought he had rescued Kuwait once more in the 90th minute, following up a dangerous cross to level the tie. Then came the sucker punch. Karrar Nabeel unleashed an unstoppable rocket from the edge of the box in the ninth minute of stoppage time to win it for Iraq.
Kuwait had opened the tournament with a one-goal defeat to Saudi Arabia, while Iraq drew with Oman in the first round. The group stage concludes on 29 September, when Iraq face hosts Saudi Arabia in a mouthwatering encounter and Kuwait take on Oman.
Kuwait remain the tournament's most successful nation with 10 Arabian Gulf Cup titles, the last of them in 2010. Iraq sit second on four, their most recent coming in the previous edition in 2023.