Kyrgyzstan 0 - 0 Al Iraq (393140784)

Clear skies welcomed the 21698 spectators who had made their way to the Spit-Roast. Roman Landau was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bobbie van ‘t Schip and Antti Ranki. The match took place on neutral ground. Kyrgyzstan decided to use a 5-5-0 set up. Starters: Jumazov - Ilmenskiy, Kamilov, Jirgal Uulu, Ruslanov, Kravtsev - Dunay, Iriskul Uulu, Satybaldiev, Zizka, Junusov -.

Al Iraq tactics involved an interesting 5-5-0 combination. They fielded: Abdullah - Fleifel, Safi, Raheem, Al-Sadr, Azli - Ashkouri, Faour, Al-Salman, Bazzi, Fouad -.

The wings were the focus of most of Kyrgyzstan's attacks today. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Al Iraq. 1 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Al Iraq substitution. H. Saleem came on for A. Raheem. Kyrgyzstan had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. Players in Kyrgyzstan heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. With the clock showing 26 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Al Iraq resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by M. Bazzi in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Possession in this half belonged to Kyrgyzstan, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

After 79 minutes, the Kyrgyzstan coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving T. Iriskul Uulu off the field. V. Mursalimov took his place. Coming in from the right, Al Iraq had a good opportunity to convert on a counterattack after 80 minutes, but R. Fleifel's attempt to finish was easily stopped. K. Al-Salman was ever so close to scoring after an excellent corner was beautifully flicked on by A. Ashkouri, but the ball bounced off the post to safety. 89 minutes into the game, Al Iraq wanted to bring some new energy to their game. A. Faour gave A. Hourany a quick hug as he left the field. As the 89 minute mark approached, the Al Iraq coach decided it was time for a substitution. R. Al-Sadr reluctantly made way for L. Bahoda on the pitch. S. Satybaldiev would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. A. Sulaimanov entered the game for Kyrgyzstan as the match clock showed 89 minutes. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Kyrgyzstan, with 52 percent of the ball.

Kyrgyzstan's top performer was clearly A. Jumazov. On the other hand, S. Kravtsev's play was disheartening. Al Iraq's best player was R. Fleifel. S. Fouad was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 0.