Arnold declares that Iraq could have decided the match early against Kuwait, and Algeria announces Gouiri’s absence from the African Nations qualifiers camp.

Australian Graham Arnold, coach of the Iraqi national team, confirmed that his team was able to resolve its confrontation against Kuwait early, noting that wasting opportunities gave the opponent a chance to remain in the atmosphere of the match until its final stages.

Arnold said during the press conference: “We had many opportunities, and we could have decided the match early, before the Kuwaiti team scored its first goal.”

The Iraqi coach spoke about the lessons learned from the confrontation, pointing out that the presence of players with experience participating in the World Cup represents an important factor in the team’s journey, especially in dealing with the pressures of matches and tournaments.

He explained: “There are many lessons we can learn. 50 percent of the players have previously participated in the World Cup, and we have players who have experience and leadership ability, and this is an important factor for us.”

Arnold added that the importance of experience is not limited to performance on the field, but extends to helping young players, saying: “The presence of experienced players helps us a lot, especially in motivating and supporting young players.”

The Algerian national team announced the absence of French Marseille striker Amine Gouiri from the team's ranks during the rest of the camp held to play the two qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations.

The Algerian national team confirmed in an official statement via its account on “X” that the medical examinations that striker Amine Gouiri underwent on Saturday morning showed a muscle injury at the level of the left thigh, after he left the field injured in the match between Zambia and Algeria.

Gouiri was substituted early in the match, which the Algerian team won 3-1, due to this injury.

The statement continued: “Based on the results of the tests, Gouiri will undergo a period of rest, to ensure his absence from the rest of the camp, and the player will be released on Sunday morning.”

Gouiri is the second player to leave the Algerian roster, after Rayan Ait Nouri, the Manchester City player, who the national team also announced was excluded, without giving reasons. However, the player appeared angry on the Algeria substitute bench, in the match against Zambia, as a result of his seating as a substitute.

The Algerian national team will play its second qualifier match against Burundi next Tuesday.

Iraq snatched a dramatic victory from its Kuwaiti counterpart (3-2), on Saturday, in the second round of Group 1 competitions in “Gulf 27”.

The Iraqi national team raised its score to four points to occupy first place, after tying in the first round against Oman, while the Kuwaiti national team occupies last place in the group without a balance of points, after suffering its second loss in a row, after losing to Saudi Arabia in the first round.

The Iraqi team took the lead through Zidane Iqbal in the 52nd minute, before the Kuwaiti team equalized in the 75th minute through Youssef Nasser. In the 83rd minute, Saif Rashid scored the second goal for the Iraqi team, but Youssef Nasser came back again to score the equalizer for Kuwait in the last minute of regular time in the second half.

But the Iraqi team succeeded in snatching the victory in the ninth minute of stoppage time in the second half through Karar Nabil, achieving three valuable points.