Ali Sabah gave Iraq the lead just before the break but Bahrain equalised in the 50th minute through Saad Salah before Ali Muneer grabbed the winner five minutes later.

The victory means Bahrain join Uzbekistan at the top of Group B after the Central Asians had earlier edged DPR Korea 1-0.

Iraq looked good going forward but their defence often appeared decidedly shaky and poor marking almost presented Bahrain with the opener inside 10 minutes when skipper Sayed Dhiya fed a pass to send Salah through on goal but defender Ahmed Fadil recovered to force the forward wide and avert the danger.

Hassan Ahmed’s side became more settled as the half wore on and started to push forward with Amjed Kalaf lifting a free-kick into the hands of keeper Ebrahim Khalil after 30 minutes before Mohammed Saad had a chance from close range.

But the Iraq defence was nearly caught out once again 10 minutes before the break when Hassan Jameel sent Salah clear but his shot was charged down at the last minute by a defender.

However it was poor defending at the other end of the pitch that led to the opening goal in the 44th minute as the defence failed to clear from a goalmouth scramble and Sabah volleyed home from six yards.

Bahrain were level though five minutes after the restart when Hamad Aldakheel cut the ball into the middle of the box from the byline and Salah hooked a shot beyond the reach of Hassan Jalal and into the bottom right corner of the net.

Things got worse for Iraq in the 55th minute when Bahrain added a second as Muneer’s effort crept in beyond Jalal to give his side the lead.

Iraq attempted to offer a quick response as Mustafa Jouda flicked a header just wide before substitute Saleem Mohaimen headed weakly straight at Khalil.

But instead it was Bahrain who looked the most likely to extend their lead and only the woodwork denied them a third in the 70th minute when Salah cleverly picked out Aldakheel inside the area and the midfielder curled a shot that bounced back off the left post.

Mohaimen tried in vain to produce an equaliser in the closing stages and he nearly caught out Khalil with an acrobatic overhead kick before his quick-thinking sent Saad clear but the forward’s shot was blocked by a last-ditch challenge from Sultan Thani and Bahrain held on to their slender advantage.