Iraq–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

Iraq and Saudi Arabia are two fierce rivals of the Arab world. Their matches are often considered to be one of the most heated rivalries in the world.

Iraq–Saudi Arabia rivalry

Other names	Iraq vs Saudi Arabia
Location	Asia (AFC) West Asia (WAFF)
Teams	Iraq  Saudi Arabia
First meeting	29 March 1976 (48 years ago)
Latest meeting	Saudi Arabia 0–2 Iraq 25th Arabian Gulf Cup (9 January 2023)
Statistics
Meetings total	40
Most wins	Iraq (18)
Largest victory	Saudi Arabia 1–7 Iraq 4th Arabian Gulf Cup (29 March 1976)

Although received lesser attention comparing to rivalry with Iran of both sides, it is one of the oldest rivalries in Asia.^[1] Emotions often run high when two teams meet each others.

Reason behind the rivalry

The main reasons for this rivalry are political differences, and historical grievances. During the Gulf War in the 1990s, Iraq invaded Kuwait, an ally of Saudi Arabia, and both fought a short but bloody war that would continue to have a major impact on their relations.^[2] Due to the Gulf War of 1991, Saudi Arabia and Iraq had no official diplomatic relations, resulting in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification matches between the two nations being held on neutral grounds of Bahrain and Jordan.

Recently, accusations from Iraq that Saudi Arabia is instigating terrorist groups, like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, further deepened enmity between the two nations.

Major tournament matches

1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia
Ahmed 86'		Al Mugnim 4'

25 November 1975 (1975-11-25)

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

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1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Iraq	2–1	Saudi Arabia
Subhi 13' Hassan 41'		Bakhit 54'

2 December 1975 (1975-12-02)

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

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1982 FIFA World Cup qualification

Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq
Mohammad 82'

21 March 1981 (1981-03-21)

First round

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Referee: Rubio Vesquez (Mexico)

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1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia
Radhi 1'		Owairan 36'

24 October 1993 (1993-10-24)

Final round

Khalifa International Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Quiniou (France)

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1996 AFC Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq
Al-Mehallel 26'	Report

8 December 1996 (1996-12-08)

16:45

Group stage

Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)

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2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq
Al-Dosari 45'	Report

31 August 2001 (2001-08-31)

20:30 UTC+03

Final round

Bahrain National Stadium, Manama

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Lu Jun (China)

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2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Iraq	1–2	Saudi Arabia
Al-Hail 31'	Report	Shehan 1', 77'

5 October 2001 (2001-10-05)

18:00 UTC+03

Final round

Amman International Stadium, Amman (Jordan)

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)

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2004 AFC Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia	1–2	Iraq
Al-Montashari 57'	Report	Akram 51' Mahmoud 86'

26 July 2004 (2004-07-26)

19:00

Group stage

Sichuan Longquanyi Stadium, Chengdu

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Kwon Jong-chul (South Korea)

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2007 AFC Asian Cup

Iraq	1–0	Saudi Arabia
Mahmoud 72'	Report

29 July 2007 (2007-07-29)

19:30 UTC+7

Final

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

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2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Iraq	0–2	Saudi Arabia
	Report	Hawsawi 34' Al-Shamrani 78'

15 October 2013 (2013-10-15)

19:30 UTC+3

Amman International Stadium, Amman (Jordan)

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Abdullah Al Hilali (Oman)

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2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Saudi Arabia	2–1	Iraq
Al-Jassim 18' Al-Shamrani 60'	Report	Mahmoud 45+1'

15 November 2013 (2013-11-15)

19:30 UTC+3

Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam

Attendance: 21,600

Referee: Masaaki Toma (Japan)

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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Iraq	1–2	Saudi Arabia
Abdul-Raheem 18'	Report	Al-Abed 81' (pen.), 88' (pen.)

6 September 2016 (2016-09-06)

19:00 UTC+8

Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam (Malaysia)

Attendance: 3,400

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq
Al-Shehri 53'

28 March 2017 (2017-03-28)

20:30 UTC+3

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 60,153

Matches

Source:^[3]

#	Date	Competition	Home team	Score	Away team	Goals (home)	Goals (away)	Venue
1	22 August 1975	1976 Olympic qualification[lower-alpha 1]	Iraq	0–2	Saudi Arabia			Tehran
2	25 November 1975	1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification	Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia	Ahmed 86'	Al-Mugnim 4'	Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
3	2 December 1975		Iraq	2–1	Saudi Arabia	Subhi 13', Hassan 42'	Bakhit 54'	Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
4	29 March 1976	1976 Gulf Cup	Saudi Arabia	1–7	Iraq	Suroor 82'	Waal 3', Abdul-Jalil 6', Hassan 25', Kadhim 45', 60', 68' Subhi 89'	Doha
5	31 August 1976	Friendly	Saudi Arabia	0–0	Iraq			Riyadh
6	14 December 1978	1978 Asian Games	Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia	Ali 40'		Bangkok
7	8 April 1979	1979 Gulf Cup	Iraq	2–0	Saudi Arabia	Hassan 24', Farhan 36'		Al Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
8	21 March 1981	1982 FIFA World Cup qualification	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq	Dabo 82'		Al Malaz Stadium, Riyadh
9	24 March 1982	1982 Gulf Cup	Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia
10	1 December 1982	1982 Asian Games	Saudi Arabia	0–1	Iraq		H.Mohammed 17'	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi
11	17 March 1984	1984 Gulf Cup	Iraq	4–0	Saudi Arabia	Shaker 25', Saeed 57', 70', 84'		Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat
12	10 July 1985	1985 Arab Nations Cup	Iraq	3–2	Saudi Arabia	Abid 12', 18', Rashid 28'	Nu'eimeh 12' (pen.), Al-Jawad 88'	King Fahd Stadium, Taif
13	14 August 1985	1985 Pan Arab Games[lower-alpha 2]	Iraq	2–1	Saudi Arabia	Radhi	Abdullah 21' (pen.)	Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca
14	30 March 1986	1986 Gulf Cup	Iraq	1–2	Saudi Arabia	Saddam 75'		Manama
15	1 October 1986	1986 Asian Games	Saudi Arabia	1–1 (a.e.t.)[lower-alpha 3]	Iraq	Al-Shehrani 39'	H.Mohammed 51'	Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul
16	4 December 1987	1988 Olympic qualification[lower-alpha 1]	Saudi Arabia	0–0	Iraq			Riyadh
17	1 January 1988		Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia	Shaker 51' (pen.)		Muscat
18	16 March 1988	1988 Gulf Cup	Iraq	2–0	Saudi Arabia	Radhi 59', Gorgis 72'		King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
19	15 July 1988	1988 Arab Nations Cup	Iraq	2–0	Saudi Arabia	Radhi 13', 35'		Amman
20	24 October 1993	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification	Iraq	1–1	Saudi Arabia	Radhi 1'	Owairan 36'	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
21	8 December 1996	1996 AFC Asian Cup	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq	Al-Mehallel 26'		Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
22	31 August 2001	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq	Al-Dosari 45'		Bahrain National Stadium, Manama
23	5 October 2001		Iraq	1–2	Saudi Arabia	Abu Al-Hail 31'	Shehan 1', 77'	Amman International Stadium, Amman
24	26 July 2004	2004 AFC Asian Cup	Saudi Arabia	1–2	Iraq	Al-Montashari 57'	Akram 51', Mahmoud 86'	Sichuan Longquanyi Stadium, Chengdu
25	5 December 2005	2005 West Asian Games	Iraq	5–1	Saudi Arabia	Abdul-Amir 8', E.Mohammed 19', Akram 30', Mahmoud 51', 78'	Al-Qadi 53'	Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
26	8 December 2005		Iraq	2–0	Saudi Arabia	Salah 33', Farhan 85'
27	15 March 2006	Friendly	Saudi Arabia	2–2	Iraq	Temyat 18', Al-Jaber 59'	Shakroun 28', Abdul-Amir 90+4'	Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
28	24 January 2007	2007 Gulf Cup	Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq	Al-Qahtani 12' (pen.)		Al-Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
29	29 July 2007	2007 AFC Asian Cup	Iraq	1–0	Saudi Arabia	Mahmoud 72'		Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta
30	22 March 2009	Friendly	Saudi Arabia	0–0	Iraq			King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
31	28 December 2010		Saudi Arabia	0–1	Iraq		Mahmoud 24'	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam
32	5 July 2012	2012 Arab Nations Cup	Saudi Arabia	0–1	Iraq		Abdul-Zahra 16'	Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
33	6 January 2013	2013 Gulf Cup	Saudi Arabia	0–2	Iraq		Shaker 18', Hawsawi 72' (o.g.)	Khalifa Sports City Stadium, Isa Town
34	15 October 2013	2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification	Iraq	0–2	Saudi Arabia		Hawsawi 34', Al-Shamrani 78'	Amman International Stadium, Amman
35	15 November 2013		Saudi Arabia	2–1	Iraq	Jassim 18', Al-Shamrani 60'	Mahmoud 45+1'	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam
36	6 September 2016	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification	Iraq	1–2	Saudi Arabia	Abdul-Raheem 18'	Al-Abed 81' (pen.), 88' (pen.)	Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam
37	28 March 2017		Saudi Arabia	1–0	Iraq	Al-Shehri 53'		King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
38	28 February 2018	Friendly	Iraq	4–1	Saudi Arabia	Al-Robeai 21' (o.g.), Mohsin 47', Ali 51', 73'	Fallatah 57'	Basra International Stadium, Basra
39	15 October 2018		Saudi Arabia	1–1	Iraq	Al-Bishi 90+4'	Ali 71'	King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh
40	9 January 2023	2023 Gulf Cup	Saudi Arabia	0–2	Iraq		Bayesh 30', Rostam 86'	Basra International Stadium, Basra

1. Not a full FIFA international
2. Iraq competed in the tournament with its B team squad.
3. Saudi Arabia won on penalties.

Statistics

Matches held in Iraq	5
Matches held in neutral venue	23
Matches held in Saudi Arabia	12
Total matches	40
Matches won by Iraq	18
Matches won by Saudi Arabia	11

See also

• Iran–Iraq football rivalry
• Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry

References

1. "Match Preview: Iraq vs Saudi Arabia". 27 February 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
2. "World Cup '94-political Football - tribunedigital-chicagotribune". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12.
3. "Iraq national football team: Record v Saudi%20Arabia". Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2018-06-14.