Mohanad Ali scored the winning goal in the 75th minute from an Ibrahim Bayesh pass, reports the Bangkok Post.
Frans Putros was given his marching orders just two minutes later for picking up his second yellow in the game, while Ali was shown a straight red in stoppage time for a vicious tackle on Chanathip Songkrasin.
Thailand pushed hard for the equaliser but Iraq held firm to win their second King’s Cup after having also triumphed in the 2023 edition.
Thailand coach Masatada Ishii admitted after the match that his men had adopted a wrong approach in the first half.
“To put it simply, we have not been able to lift the King’s Cup this time,” said the Japanese coach.
“In the first half, we were overly defensive. In the second half, we improved after the adjustments we made at half-time. I believe we performed better in the second half than in the first.
“We only had one week of collective training for this tournament. If we can hold continuous camps, I think the Thai players will have a chance to advance in the next World Cup qualifying round.
“Judging by the result, we may not have achieved what we expected, but in terms of the details, every player worked hard to try to win today’s match. What everyone saw - both in the stadium and on TV - should reflect the determination and focus of every player.
“Our aim in competing at this King’s Cup was to win the tournament. But we also have to look ahead to our next match against Chinese Taipei in the Asian Cup qualifiers next month.”
In the third-place playoff, Hong Kong took advantage of Fiji being reduced to nine men after only 22 minutes to run out 8-0 winners.
Thailand will next play their third and fourth matches of the AFC Asian Cup Group D qualifiers against Taiwan on Oct 9 and 14.