In the first round of the group stage, which took place on January 27, the Kyrgyz team faced the team from Iraq.
Under the guidance of coach Nurzhan Jetibayev, the players managed to open the scoring just 53 seconds into the game. Kairat Kubanychov made a cross from a throw-in, and Doner Amanbaev successfully completed the attack by sending the ball into the net — 1:0.
After that, the Kyrgyz team had several opportunities to increase their lead, but they were unable to capitalize on them.
Midway through the first half, goalkeeper Bekbolot Akmataliev went outside the penalty area and attempted to strike the ball, but the opponent intercepted it. As a result of trying to eliminate the threat, Akmataliev was sent off with a red card.
The Iraqis needed just 50 seconds to take advantage of their numerical superiority — 1:1.
After that, the performance of the Kyrgyzstan team noticeably deteriorated, and with 3 minutes left in the first half, the opponent scored again, putting the Iraqi team ahead — 2:1.
The teams went into halftime with Iraq leading.
In the second half, the Kyrgyz team came out with a renewed mindset. In the 26th minute, Kubanychov scored with a long-range shot, leveling the score at 2:2.
But the Iraqi team quickly responded, taking the lead again by scoring a third goal against Ulan Chorobek uulu — 3:2.
At the end of the match, Makhamadinov came onto the court in place of the goalkeeper and made a dangerous shot two minutes before the final whistle, but the ball hit the crossbar.
In the last minute of the game, the Iraq national team capitalized on a mistake by the Kyrgyz players and scored a fourth goal.
As a result, the match ended with a score of 4:2 in favor of Iraq.
The next match for the Kyrgyzstan team will be on January 29 against Indonesia.
