Iraq
The Iraqi U-20 national team ahead of their match against Japan in the Asian Cup semi-final on March 15, 2023. Photo: Iraq National Team/Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi national football team is set to face Uruguay in its first match of the 2023 World Cup for players under the age of 20, with spirits running high in the team’s locker room ahead of the anticipated match.
Argentina is hosting the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, taking place between May 20 and June 11. This is the fifth appearance for the Cubs of Mesopotamia in the international tournament. The team achieved a historic fourth place finish in the 2013 tournament.
Emad Mohammed’s players seek to win the full-three points from Tuesday midnight’s bout with the South American Cup runner-ups, before finishing off the group stage with matches against the Tunisian team on Friday and the England national team on Sunday.
“The [Iraqi] youth team enters the tournament with a competitive spirit, and not just for the sake of participation,” Ibrahim Salem, the team’s goalkeepers coach, told Iraqi state media, adding that they have a lot of confidence in the players to reach the next round, especially following their impressive showing in the Asian Cup earlier this year.
The Iraqi team achieved the second place in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup in March following a narrow 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the final. The U-20 team has been crowned Asian Cup champions five times, with the latest triumph coming in the 2000 tournament.
Despite the country’s constant state of political instability and disunity, the Iraqi population’s special connection to the sport of football has managed to unify the people at times of major regional and international tournaments, coming to the support of the national team regardless of their humble results.
Iraq’s southern city of Basra hosted the 25th Gulf Cup in January to massive success, in which the host nation’s team emerged victorious following a 3-2 nail-biter in the final against Oman, sparking celebrations all across the war-torn country.
Argentina is hosting the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, taking place between May 20 and June 11. This is the fifth appearance for the Cubs of Mesopotamia in the international tournament. The team achieved a historic fourth place finish in the 2013 tournament.
Emad Mohammed’s players seek to win the full-three points from Tuesday midnight’s bout with the South American Cup runner-ups, before finishing off the group stage with matches against the Tunisian team on Friday and the England national team on Sunday.
“The [Iraqi] youth team enters the tournament with a competitive spirit, and not just for the sake of participation,” Ibrahim Salem, the team’s goalkeepers coach, told Iraqi state media, adding that they have a lot of confidence in the players to reach the next round, especially following their impressive showing in the Asian Cup earlier this year.
The Iraqi team achieved the second place in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup in March following a narrow 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the final. The U-20 team has been crowned Asian Cup champions five times, with the latest triumph coming in the 2000 tournament.
Despite the country’s constant state of political instability and disunity, the Iraqi population’s special connection to the sport of football has managed to unify the people at times of major regional and international tournaments, coming to the support of the national team regardless of their humble results.
Iraq’s southern city of Basra hosted the 25th Gulf Cup in January to massive success, in which the host nation’s team emerged victorious following a 3-2 nail-biter in the final against Oman, sparking celebrations all across the war-torn country.
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