The Iraqi national team bid farewell to the Arab Cup Qatar 2025 after their 1-0 loss to their Jordanian counterparts in the quarter-final match held at the Education City Stadium.

The only goal of the match was scored by Al-Nashama striker Ali Alwan in the 41st minute from a penalty kick awarded by Norwegian referee Espen Eskås after reviewing the video technology.

This elimination resulted from three prominent scenes that appeared in Iraq's performance, as the team tried with all its might to come back in the match but to no avail, due to the Jordanian defense's brilliance and correct positioning throughout the match.

Iraq's striker, Mohannad Ali "Mimi," was completely isolated from his teammates, lost in the Jordanian defense's clamp, ending the match without showing strength or delivering the expected performance.

Despite strengthening the attack by bringing in player Mohammed Jawad in the second half, the Iraqi attack remained absent and did not threaten the Jordanian goal, at a time when the team desperately needed a striker skilled in aerial balls like Ayman Hussein. Thus, the lack of attacking effectiveness was one of the main reasons for the loss.

Australian coach Graham Arnold tried, through his strategy in the match, to end the first half in a draw, hoping to find offensive solutions in the second half, but Jordan's goal changed the course of the game.

At the 57th minute, Arnold began making substitutions, such as replacing Ahmed McKenzie with Hassan Abdulkarim "Qawqia," a change that quickly showed results as Iraq started to press on the Jordanian goal and came close to equalizing at certain times. However, this approach failed due to the lack of sufficient offensive tools.

The trio Akam Hashim, Ahmed Yahya, and Ali Jassim exerted great efforts to break through the Jordanian defense, but these attempts did not yield a goal to bring the Lions of Mesopotamia back into the match.

Akam Hashim was the best among his teammates in the backline, successfully intercepting most balls and being the most active and lively. Ahmed Yahya became more liberated after McKenzie's exit and formed a distinctive duo with Ali Jassim, who resorted to his individual skill and shot from outside the penalty area, almost scoring the equalizer if not for the brilliance of Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abulili.