The Young Lions of Mesopotamia lifted the championship in front of a sold-out stadium in the capital Baghdad as the hosts of the fourth edition of the U-23 West Asian cup, emerging victorious in the penalty shootout with nothing to separate the two sides after two halves.
Nine teams from the region competed for the tournament’s title.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani congratulated the national team for their triumph immediately following the fixture.
“We congratulate our Iraqi people on the victory of our team … after they performed a heroic performance, through which they deserve to be crowned with the support of the sports fans who, through their conscious encouragement, reflected the expressive image of Iraq that loves life and peace,” Sudani said in a statement.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid also sent a letter of congratulations to the team, saying that Iraq’s successful tournament management reflected positively on the direction that the country is headed towards.
“Our success in hosting the tournament, and before that the 25th Gulf Cup, once again confirms the country’s restoration of its normal state of security, stability, and the strong will of the Iraqis to elevate the country to the position it deserves,” Rashid tweeted.
The bout marked the third final for Iraq men’s football teams across different age groups in 2023, after the first team’s Gulf Cup victory and the U-20 team’s second place finish in the Asian Cup.
The Iraqi Football Federation signed a contract with Spain’s top division LaLiga football league earlier this month, aimed at helping Iraq to improve its organization and marketing of sports events, as well as training and enhancing young Iraqi football talents.
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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