Hanoi From 11am today, coach Jesus Casas answered media questions about the Iraqi team's preparations for the match against host Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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Iraq coach Jesus Casas. Photo: AFC
Right after easily defeating Indonesia 5-1 on November 16, Iraq boarded a private plane to fly to Vietnam. Coach Jesus Casas's team arrived in Hanoi earlier than coach Philippie Troussier's team returned from the Philippines, thus saving their energy. The only difficulty for the West Asian representative is that they have to get used to the cold, dry weather in Hanoi.
Iraq is currently ranked 68th in the FIFA rankings, 26 places higher than Vietnam. They are considered the most promising candidate for the top spot in Group F.
Coach Jesus Casas has a strong squad. Although former Man United prodigy midfielder Zidane Iqbal is absent due to injury, Iraq still has 10 players playing in Europe in this visit to Vietnam, including: defenders Merchas Doski (Slovacko), Rebin Sulaka (Brommapojkarna), Hussein Ali (Heerenveen); midfielders Osama Rashid (Vizela), Amir Amari (Halmstads), Youssef Amyn (Braunschweig), Danilo Al Saed (Sandefjord), Ahmad Allee (Rouen) and strikers Pashang Abdulla (Degerfors IF), Ali Hamadi (Wimbledon).
Iraq's players have superior physique and physical strength compared to Vietnam. This team also has a very diverse playing style. In the victory over Indonesia, they were dangerous with both high and low balls, from midfield to flank attacks. Meanwhile, Vietnam's defense system has not shown solidity, still made many mistakes and was only lucky not to concede a goal against the Philippines because the opponent finished poorly. Iraq's strikers finished very effectively, and if Coach Troussier's students do not play better, they will hardly keep a clean sheet.
The Vietnam - Iraq match will take place at 7pm tomorrow, November 21, live on VnExpress .
Lam Thoa
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