Iraq’s two recent wins over Cambodia and Hong Kong have put them in pole position to qualify for the next stage of World Cup Qualifiers. However, awaiting Iraq in the final match of Group C is Iran, who have recently had a change of fortune since their difficult start to the qualification campaign. A change of manager has led to Iran winning three games consecutively … Continue reading WCQ Preview – Iraq vs. Iran
Iraqfootball.me are delighted to be joined by Manuel Veth in a discussion on how successful Ali Adnan’s transfer to Vancouver Whitecaps has been since he joined the MLS side. Manuel, who covers the Vancouver Whitecaps on ProSoccerUSA.com, can be contacted on Twitter here. Question 1 – What did you think when you first heard Vancouver were signing Ali Adnan? Answer – I think, like … Continue reading Exclusive: Has Ali Adnan Been A Success At Vancouver Whitecaps FC?
Thrown into an impossible task, Katanec took a broken squad and created a unit capable of challenging the best in Asia. No doubt, Iraq could have performed better, but given the circumstances and expectations around the national team only a few months ago, there are still plenty of positives to take away from the four games played in the 2019 Asian Cup. We have listed … Continue reading 5 Talking Points From The 2019 Asian Cup: Painful Reflection On Iraq’s Gradual Decline As An Asian Footballing Force
Australia has a long-standing history with Iraqi football and Mario Shabow is the latest player caught in the crossways between the two nations. Soon to be 20 years old, the youngster has settled down in Australia and has represented their U20 national team 13 times with 5 goals to his name. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, to Assyrian parents and moved to Australia at … Continue reading Introducing A-League’s Mario Shabow – Iraq’s Potential Midfield Prodigy
There has been a noticeable level of success achieved by the Iraqi national team at the youth level over the previous two decades. Iraq has previously finish 4th in Athens 2004 Olympics, 4th in the U23 World Cup 2013, amongst other successes with the U20 and U17 sides, both on a continental and international level. Contrastingly, the results of Iraq’s senior national team have failed … Continue reading Feature: The Lack Of Planning In Iraq’s Youth Team Is Ruining The National Team’s Future
Only a real sceptic would argue that there were no positives to be taken from the 2017 World Cup U-17 campaign that saw Iraq defeated by Mali in the last 16 round. However, it is important to acknowledge that the team that is supposedly the best in Asia ended up crashing in the final stages of the tournament. The last two fixtures against England and … Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Iraq Struggles To Produce Quality Young Football Players
With the transfer window upon us and a large number of Iraqi footballers likely to be on the move this summer, we wanted to examine the multitude of reasons why only a limited number of Iraqi footballers have ever transferred to the top European leagues. This has always been the case with Iraqi footballers and includes even the ‘Golden Generation’ of players who defied all odds to win the … Continue reading 5 Reasons Why We Don’t See More Iraqi Footballers In Europe
Player Ratings GK – Mohammed Hameed – A relatively quiet evening for our keeper. However, even though he wasn’t tested much, Hameed maintained his focus and comfortably saved long-range efforts, punched away corners and came out to gather through balls when needed. Also, he has to be credited for his excellent distribution across the pitch. He guessed the correct way for both penalties but wasn’t able … Continue reading Player Rating: Iraq 1-2 Saudi Arabia (WCQ Russia 2018)
For a more detailed match report of the Iraq 0-2 Australia match, Click Here. Player Ratings GK – Mohammed Hameed – Made a crucial save seconds into the game. Got down well to make a few other saves. Could only look on as Australia struck bar twice and scored two other goals. . (6.5/10) RB – Alaa Mhawi – Comfortably dealt with the Australian attack on the … Continue reading Player Rating: Iraq 0-2 Australia (WCQ Russia 2018)
The following article is a direct translation of extracts taken from French sports website SoFoot.com, featuring IraqFootball.me’s Hassanane Balal and IraqSports’ Hassanin Mubarak. Both individuals were interviewed by journalist William Vénétitay, whose article can be read in full here. This article remains the property of SoFoot.com and has been solely translated for Iraqi football fans who do not speak French – this article is not the … Continue reading Feature: “Iraq’s 2004 Olympics Respite”
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