History-making or accidents, which will come first in the Asian Cup? From the group stage to the round of 16, Iraq's first double day is perhaps the most vivid case.
In the Asian Cup 1 8 finals on the evening of the 30th, due to the referee's controversial red card, the Iraqi team suffered two consecutive kills in stoppage time, and after insisting on 10 to 11 for nearly half an hour, it still inevitably lost 2-3 to Jordan, regrettably stopped in the round of 16, and failed to continue the magical performance of the group stage.
Emman Hussein imitated Jordan celebrations after scoring a goal and was sent off for a second yellow card.
In the last World Cup Asian round of 12, Iraq, which was only 3 points short of catching up with the play-offs, has continued to conquer the city in just over one year - from winning the Gulf Cup after 44 years, to winning the West Asia U23 Championship, and then to the King of Thailand Cup and the Arab Cup, and making the Japanese team's winning streak an old one.
This calamity-ridden national team seems to have the momentum to return to the top of Asia in the future.
What did Iraqi football do right? The answer is simple but embarrassing: reliable tactical discipline, grasp the cultivation of reserve talents, continue to send international players overseas for training, and the Football Association, ** and fans who are willing to reward and give real money.
Iraq won all three games to advance to the round of 16.
Efficient 2024, a tribute to 2007
Older fans won't forget the Iraqi side at the 2007 Asian Cup, beating Vietnam, South Korea and Saudi Arabia in the hot and humid summer of Southeast Asia to reach the top of Asia for the first time in history.
The Iraqi team, which adhered to the defensive counterattack, the whole team's defense was tightly fenced, and the counterattack was all handed over to Younis, the top scorer with a thin body. is such a "one-trick fresh", which does not prevent Iraq from conceding only 2 goals in the entire cup competition, and the knockout round is 3 consecutive clean sheets.
Today, the tough, tough, hard-working, and efficient style of the Asian champions of 17 years ago has been inherited by the younger generations.
Iraq defeated Japan 2-1.
Especially in the group stage against Japan, the Iraqi team had an absolute disadvantage of 28% possession and only half of the opponent's shots (8 to 15), and it was not until stoppage time that the goal was broken, and the 11 fouls were enough to prove that they played **, but by no means savage.
An often overlooked statistic is that the average height of the 26 Iraqi team in this Asian Cup reached 182cm73, and among the 24 participating teams, only Iran and China ranked third.
In the case of limited run-in time, the participating teams generally speed up, and pay more attention to seizing the opportunity to shoot immediately in the counterattack, while the Iraqi team's fast offensive and defensive conversion speed and skillful cooperation of the frontcourt group are obvious to all.
The criteria for selecting a coach have never changed.
All of this is inseparable from the new coach who took office in November 2022, Spaniard Jesús Casas, who served as Enrique's assistant coach.
Just like Patrick Vieira back then, this little-known player and coaching career has become the hero of the Iraqi team's resurgence.
Casas, who is about to turn 51, has already obtained his UEFA coaching certificate at the age of 29, starting as a sports coordinator for the small team Cadiz, and working his way through the youth team coach, match analyst, scout and assistant coach.
The coach of the Iraqi team, Jesús Casas.
Although there are many well-known coaches such as Milu, Zico, Advocat and others in the history of the team, no matter what the domestic situation is, the criteria for selecting a coach of the Iraqi Football Federation have never changed, that is, they must live in Iraq, ** the domestic league in Iraq, and participate in the reform of Iraqi football.
In order to sign Casas, the Iraqi Football Association organized delegations to Spain many times, and after reaching a memorandum of cooperation with the Spanish Football Federation, he signed his right-hand man as soon as possible.
Now, this seemingly unremarkable signing is a successful "win-win", and it is the foreshadowing of the resurgence of Iraqi football.
Emman Hussein scored twice against Japan.
Returnees made meritorious contributions, and the league was reborn.
In the matchup with Japan's Tennoyama, Casas, who had always sat in the coach's seat, was not replaced by Ali Adnan, the current national team attendance record holder, the veteran of many battles, until the situation was tight in the second half.
But for fans familiar with Serie A, Adnan has another identity - the first Iraqi player to play in Serie A.
After four seasons at Udine, he has traveled to Turkey, Italy, Canada, Russia and Malaysia, making him the team's most senior returnee.
Adnan (right) defends Japan's Arsenal player Kenhiro Tomiyasu.
In this Asian Cup, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia and other teams can send all returnees to start, but Iraq is not far behind. As many as 17 of the 26 players in the squad are from overseas leagues.
Although there are no players playing in the top league and traditional powerhouses, even in the European minor leagues, the Iraqi international can be provided with regular training and attendance, and the tactical influence of the ears and eyes has also allowed Casas's defense to be implemented.
Like Syria, a large number of returnees from the current Iraqi team actually have a more or less refugee background - the snowy Swedish league has contributed as many as five Iraqi internationals.
Rooted in the youth team of the European minor league, Iraq has produced a particularly strong youth army by "borrowing chickens and laying eggs". The average age of the Iraqi team is only 242 years old, tied for 5th in the round of 24 with the Saudi team; There are only 6 veterans in the whole team, and there are as many as 9 post-00 players.
Emman Hussain was sent off by the referee.
The 27-year-old striker, who scored twice to defeat Japan's Emman Hussein, has moved to Tunisia, Qatar and Morocco in the league. The team's first post-00 international player, Mohammed Ali, played with Zheng Zhi as early as the preparation for the last Asian Cup, and has since won the "double certification" in the Portuguese and Greek leagues.
This also means that in the next two World Cup cycles, the Iraqi team has an exceptionally sufficient number of troops.
And even the Iraqi League, which was rebuilt from the ruins, is now thriving. The capital derby, in which the Baghdad Air Force, the Baghdad Police, Baghdad Students and Baghdad Zula are played out, is often packed.
In this AFC Champions League, the Baghdad Air Force broke into the group stage and even defeated Jeddah United with Benzema 2-0 at home.
Iraqi football is gradually reviving.
The sword is pointing to the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup.
Iraqi football, the ancestors are actually very broad.
Since their first and only World Cup appearance in 1986, the Iraqi men's football team has played in the World Cup, Asian Cup, Olympic Games, Asian Games and Confederations Cup, and is one of only four teams under the AFC to have achieved this feat (the other three being Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia).
Those who can't kill football will eventually make the Iraqi team stronger.
At the 25th Gulf Cup just one year ago, the Iraqi team defeated the Oman team 3-2 after 120 minutes of hard fighting and won the championship. This is also the first time in 44 years that the Iraqi team has won the championship again.
This time the cup has brought the pride of Iraqi fans to the highest peak.
Celebrating Iraqi fans.
Iraq's ** Abd Latif Rashid sent a special letter to the national team to congratulate him, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Iraq Fuwad Hussein issued an official document announcing that all members of the Iraqi delegation had been granted diplomatic passports and enjoyed diplomatic immunity, which was the first time that the Iraqi national team enjoyed such treatment.
In addition, Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani released information through the ** press department that part of the land in the capital Baghdad will be directly granted to all members of the Iraqi team; Many Iraqi celebrities and tycoons have sent letters to the Football Association, donating cars, cash, and rewarding the national players who have won glory for the country.
After defeating Japan in the group stage of this Asian Cup, Sudani came to the locker room in person and promised each international player a prize of $10,000 on the spot.
Iraqi football is at its best since the war. Younis, a former national hero and sharpshooter who is now the vice president of the Football Association, talks about the team's future with confidence.
After all, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the World Preliminary Tournament, have 8With 5 qualifying places in Asia, the expansion of the army has become a fact. The Iraqi team, which has already created countless miracles, is returning to the World Cup family after 40 years, so why not?
Supine push-ups Yang Jian).
The first surging news.