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Iraq scored two first-half goals to beat United Arab Emirates 2-0 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Friday and secure their place in the Arabian Gulf Cup semi-finals.
Striker Alaa Abbas put Iraq ahead in the sixth minute, and skipper Alaa Abdul-Zahra doubled their lead in the 37th.
Manager Srecko Katanec's team, who beat hosts Qatar 2-1 in their opening game, have six points and sit at the top of Group A, three points clear of the UAE and Qatar, who thrashed Yemen 6-0 with left-back Abdelkarim Hassan scoring a hat-trick.
Hassan, the best player in Asia in 2018, opened the scoring from close range after 29 minutes and the Al-Sadd player doubled the lead with a goal from outside the box in the 36th.
Almoez Ali, top scorer in the Asian Cup earlier this year, made it 3-0 in the 57th minute and Hassan completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 72nd.
Substitute Abdullah Al-Ahrak added a fifth with a long-range effort in the 85th minute, and forward Akram Afif completed the rout in stoppage time.
Qatar will now meet the UAE on Monday, needing a draw to reach the semi-finals along with Iraq.
Yemen are bottom of the group with no points, and must continue their search for a first Gulf Cup victory.
Radonjic strikes late as Marseille narrow gap on leaders PSG
Olympique de Marseille's Nemanja Radonjic struck in the last minute for a 2-1 home win against Brest as they moved within five points of Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain on Friday.
Second-half substitute Radonjic found the top corner a minute after Irvin Cardona had cancelled out Bouna Sarr's second-half opener to put second-placed OM on 28 points from 15 games ahead of PSG's trip to AS Monaco on Sunday.
The hosts could have won by a bigger margin but hit the woodwork through Dimitri Payet, in both halves, and Valentin Rongier in a lively encounter at the Stade Velodrome.
Marseille, who have now won their last four league games, lead third-placed Angers, who have a game in hand and who they will face on Tuesday, by four points.
Payet hit the woodwork in an entertaining opening period which also saw Irvin Cordona strike the post for Brest but neither side could break the deadlock.
Winger Sarr, however, latched onto a cross from Payet to put the hosts ahead in the 57th minute and that seemed enough for Marseille to extend their unbeaten home run to seven matches.
But Brest, who have won only one of their last 12 away league games, equalised in the 89th when Cardona chipped goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, only for Serbian midfielder Radonjic to send the home crowd into raptures a one minute later.
Brest lie 14th in the table on 18 points from 15 games.
Schalke grab late winner to beat Union and go second
Schalke 04’s Suat Serdar scored an 86th-minute winner as the Royal Blues beat Union Berlin 2-1 on Friday to provisionally climb into second place in the Bundesliga.
Serdar’s curled low shot gave the hosts a deserved win after they dominated the second half as gutsy Union ran out of gas.
Schalke are level on 25 points with leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach who welcome Freiburg on Sunday. Champions Bayern Munich, a point behind, host Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Schalke took the lead with a powerful Benito Raman strike in the 23rd but the in-form Berliners had a string of good chances before levelling with a Marcus Ingvartsen penalty 13 minutes later.
Schalke keeper Alexander Nuebel came to the rescue on several occasions as the visitors looked to make it four wins in a row as they produced a strong first half performance.
After the break Schalke managed to keep Union at bay while controlling the pace and finding more space.
Union keeper Rafal Gikiewicz kept his team in the game and repeatedly denied Serdar and Amine Harit but he could do nothing to stop the former’s shot going in four minutes from the end.
