Riyadh: Iraq's national under-23 football team played out a 1-1 draw with Thailand in their match held today at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, as part of the second round of Group D matches at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2026, currently taking place in Saudi Arabia.
According to Qatar News Agency, Iraq opened the scoring through Ammori Al-Faisal from the penalty spot in the 27th minute, before Thailand equalized late in the match through Chingyuen Butoniong in the 85th minute. With this result, Iraq's tally rose to two points, placing them third in the group, while Thailand collected their first point of the tournament and remain at the bottom of the standings.
In another Group D match, China edged Australia 1-0 in the encounter that took place at Al-Shabab Club Stadium. Peng Xiao scored the decisive goal for the Chinese side in the 43rd minute. China moved to the top of the group standings with four points, while Australia remain second with three points.
The tournament continues tomorrow with two simultaneous matches in the third round of Group A fixtures. Saudi Arabia will face Vietnam at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, while Jordan take on Kyrgyzstan at the indoor hall of King Abdullah Sports City. Vietnam currently top Group A with six points from two matches, followed by Jordan and Saudi Arabia with three points each, while Kyrgyzstan have yet to collect any points.