Sanctions have prevented the Russian team from qualifying for last year's World Cup in Qatar. Valery Karpin's team is not currently able to play official matches. Therefore, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has to dodge in every possible way to find opponents, at least for friendly matches. So there was a variant with the Iraqi team. Sport tells who our team will play against.
Where and when will the match take place?
The meeting will take place on March 26. Initially, the Iraqi side offered to play in Baghdad. However, the RFU offered to hold the match in Sochi. Later, it was decided to move the game to St. Petersburg.
Who plays in Iraq?
Most of the players represent the national championship. However, the team has players from Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. But even this geography is not limited. a representative of the FNL was called against Russia, defender Ali Adnan plays for Rubin. Previously, he played for the Italian «Udinese» and «Atalanta». In addition, in 2013, Adnan was recognized as the best young football player in Asia.
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The Manchester United graduate also plays in the Iraq national team. 19-year-old Zidane Iqbal is not often included in the squad of the first team, but has already managed to make his debut in the Champions League. In 2021, the midfielder came on as a substitute against Young Boys (1:1). Another «Englishman» is Alexander Oraha. He plays for the youth team of Queens Park Rangers, but has not yet appeared in the first team. Striker Ali Al-Hamadi moved to Wimbledon in January this year and became the leader. The football player scored five goals and provided an assist in 10 matches of the fourth division of England.
The rest of the European legionnaires of the Iraqi team represent clubs from Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. There is also an MLS representative in the national team. Defender Mohanad Jaze plays for American DC United under Wayne Rooney. However, he did not receive a call for the upcoming camp.
The head coach of the national team of Iraq is Spaniard Jesús Casas. From 2010 to 2017 he worked for Barcelona. Then he was an assistant to the ex-coach of «Rubin» Xavi Gracia in the English «Watford».
The last place of work of the specialist was the Spanish national team, where he was part of the coaching staff of Luis Enrique. In February last year, Casas left the team in which he had worked since 2018. The coach took charge of the Iraq national team in November 2022. For Casas, this is the first experience of working as a head coach. Despite this fact, he has already managed to win the first trophy for the Iraqi national team in 16 years. .jpg»/
Achievements of the Iraqi national team
Casas' wards are suitable for the match against the Russians as home Persian Gulf Cup winners. The tournament is held every two years. Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Iraq participate in it.
For the team, this is only the fourth victory in history and the first trophy of the competition since 1988. Under the leadership of the new coach, the Iraqis did not suffer a single defeat and conceded only three goals in five meetings.
Before these, the team tried to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The first stage for the Iraqi national team was successful and ended in second place in the group. Iran was only one point behind. However, the next round failed. One victory in 10 meetings and the loss of chances for participation in the world championship.
In general, the team cannot boast of a large number of achievements. Although the Iraqi team competed at the Olympic Games in 2004, where it entered the top four. In 2016, success could not be repeated. The team limited itself to the group stage.
In 2007 the Iraqis won the Asian Cup. At the last tournament in 2019, they flew out to the 1/8 finals, losing to Qatar (0:1). The next draw should take place next summer.