Iraq
Iraq's players applaud the fans at the winning the Asian Cup match against Japan at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on January 19, 2024. Photo: Giuseppe CACACE / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s national football team emerged victorious against favorites Japan in the second fixture of the Asian Cup. The Lions of Mesopotamia won 2-1 and secured a place in the round of 16.
Striker Aymen Hussein scored the opener for Iraq in the 5th minute of the match and scored another moments before the referee blew the whistle for halftime. Wataru Endo scored Japan’s only goal.
The Iraqi talisman, Hussein, left the pitch during halftime due to injury.
The win secured Iraq a place in the round of 16 of the continental cup.
“A big salute to the heroes of our national team, for their brilliance and victory over the Japanese team,” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said on X following the win. He thanked the players, technical staff, the football association, and Iraqi fans in attendance at the Education City Stadium in Qatar’s al-Rayyan.
Ranked 62 by FIFA, Iraq entered the bout as the underdogs, facing 17th ranked and four-time Asian Cup champions Japan.
Japan famously defeated football heavyweights Spain and Germany in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, knocking out the former.
”Thank you to the heroes of our national team, thank you to the fans who supported. Congratulations to all Iraqis on this great victory,” President Abdul Latif Rashid said on X.
Reigning Asian Cup champion Qatar is hosting the 18th edition of the competition this year. Every four years, 24 teams across Asia participate in the competition in the hope of achieving continental glory.
Iraq is set to face Vietnam on Wednesday in the final match of the group stage.
Amid political instability and national disunity, Iraq’s football team unifies the nation for major regional and international tournaments. From the south to the north, the people of Iraq come to the support of the Lions of Mesopotamia regardless of their humble results.
In 2007, Iraq won its first and only Asia Cup by defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, played in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The team that brought home the trophy, led by Captain Younis Mahmoud and Kurdish star Hawar Mullah Mohammed, continues to be referred to as Iraq’s “golden generation.”
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