Mohamad Abdulraheem destroyed Thailand's World Cup hopes as he hit all four goals in Iraq's 4-0 rout of the War Elephants, who finished a torrid match with nine men on the pitch.
Iraq went for the throat against Thailand in Tehran and took a 2-0 lead in the first 25 minutes, with the Thai defence in disarray once again.
Kiatisuk Senamuang's men were lucky to go in just two goals down at the break but were unlucky to see their side decimated by injury and a controversial red card in the second half.
Iraq showed no mercy and added two more goals to leave Thailand's Group B qualifying campaign in ruins and their head coach under pressure for the first time in his two-year reign.
Here are three things we saw in Iraq's 4-0 victory over Thailand.
1. Kiatisuk's loyalty becomes stubbornness
It is tough to find fault with a head coach who has had Kiatisuk's success in the last two years. He has transformed the team from zeroes to heroes in a short space of time, bringing through young players and sticking by them.
But the loyalty which has given Thailand their best spell in a long time, suddenly appears to be holding them back. It is unlikely that any Thai fan would have wanted their head coach to start with the same team that took to the field against the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) in last week's 3-1 defeat.
However, Kiatisuk surprised many by selecting that same starting XI that had played poorly for the first hour against the U.A.E. before a couple of substitutions almost rescued the game.
Mongkol Tossakrai -- poor in his last two performances -- duly took to the field in his familiar right-wing position, as did Kroekrit Thaweekarn on the left.
A truly dismal first half ensued as the Thais were torn apart time and again down the left. Iraq had the first shot on target after four minutes when they worked their way through the left side of the Thai defence and Kawin Thamsatchanan did well to push a powerful volley wide at his near post.
Kawin had to be smart again a couple of minutes later when Ali Adnan broke clear on the left and powered in a shot that the Thai keeper did well to beat out.
But the opener wasn't long in coming. After a corner from the right, Alaa Abdul Zahra nodded the ball into the path of Abdulraheem, who got on the wrong side of Tristan Do and knocked the ball home from close range. Abdulraheem had already added his second, after a farcical passage of play, when Kiatisuk attempted to change things by taking off Mongkol and putting on centre-forward Siroch Chatthong.
Tanaboon Kesarat -- whose fitness had been in doubt before the game -- was then withdrawn for Prathum Chutong and Kroekrit was replaced by Tana Chanbut at half-time as Kiatisuk went for broke.
The question for Kiatisuk today is why did he get his team selection so wrong for the second time in a week when any fan would have made a different choice?
2. Teerasil comes up short on big occasion again
Teerasil Dangda deserves to be known as a Thai great and, at just 28 years of age, he has plenty of good years ahead of him yet.
However, the striker remains unable to find the cutting edge when it matters most. For years, he was mocked by Buriram United fans for failing to score against Muang Thong United's biggest rivals. Teerasil finally got that monkey off his back this season but when presented with Thailand's best opportunities in Group B of this World Cup qualifying campaign, he failed to find the back of the net.
He had several efforts saved on matchday one against Saudi Arabia and, with Thailand 1-0 behind against Japan in Bangkok, he passed up a fine opportunity to bring his side level.
Against Iraq, Thailand finally created a chance in the 55th minute when a fine ball from Pokklaw Anan found Teerasil racing through on goal. The striker's angled shot was blocked by Mohammed Hameed as he once again failed to find the finishing touch on the big occasion. Soon after, he nodded a free header wide.
With just one goal scored in four games so far, it is clear that Thailand desperately need a reliable striker.
3. Luck and form deserts Thais
They say that when your luck is down, everything goes against you and, as if the first-half debacle wasn't enough, the fates also conspired against Thailand.
The first blow may have been their own fault, as Tanaboon's early withdrawal was the result of a gamble taken on a player who had been struggling for fitness beforehand.
Thailand had already made three substitutions when the second half started and one of the substitutes -- Tana -- soon picked up an injury that effectively reduced the Thais to ten-and-a-half men.
Worse was to come when Korawit Namwiset was red-carded for a seemingly innocuous clash with Ahmed Ibrahim. The Iraqi received just a yellow for his part.
And further woe was to follow when Pratum collided with Kawin and suffered concussion, forcing his withdrawal. Thailand were down to nine men, with a heavily injured Tana still on the pitch and Iraq added two more through Abdulraheem to rub salt into the wounds.
After four games, four defeats and one goal scored, it has been a painful experience for Thailand so far and Kiatisuk and his coaching team must think very carefully before they resume action at home to Australia next month.