Having beaten Vietnam, Iraq will be more fearsome at Asian Cup 2023

Iraq is in Group D with Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia at the 2023 Asian Cup taking place from January 12 to February 10, 2024. With Japan being considered the strongest in the group and almost certain to have one of the two tickets to the next round, Iraq and Indonesia are considered the main opponents of Coach Troussier and his team in the race for the remaining ticket. In particular, Iraq is considered a huge challenge for Vietnam if they want to participate in the next round.

The return of Zidane Iqbal ( center ) will help Iraq's attack become stronger.

Coach Jesus Casas' team defeated Vietnam 1-0 at My Dinh Stadium in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia in November thanks to a goal by Mohanad Ali in extra time. However, the Gulf team will be even stronger this time when they come to Qatar to face Vietnam again with the return of many of their best players who were absent from the recent match in Hanoi .

In the list of 26 players called up to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup, Iraq showed that they will be even more formidable when coach Jesus Casas named 12 players playing in Europe. In addition, the main factors in the squad that played in the last qualifying round such as Bashar Resan, Osama Rashid, Youssef Amyn, Ali Al-Hamadi and captain Jalal Hassan... are all present. The return of former MU player Zidane Iqbal received much attention. According to the Iraqi press, this 20-year-old attacking star has always received the trust of coach Casas. Zidane Iqbal, born in Manchester (England), will join 19-year-old talent Ali Jasim, promising to create constant danger on both wings. The attack of the 2007 Asian champion is even stronger with the first appearance of striker Montazer Majid, who is playing for Hammarby Club (Sweden). This young talent recently decided to play for the Iraqi national team despite being targeted by Sweden. According to analysis by the Iraqi press, Coach Casas's call-up list this time received much support from domestic and international football experts. Skepticism towards the Spanish coach almost disappeared when he brought significant success through each recent tournament such as winning the Gulf Cup and winning the two opening matches of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

Coach Troussier and his students will play Iraq again in January 2024.

Thanks to his previous work as an assistant in the Spanish national team before taking over the Iraqi team in 2022, this 50-year-old strategist has enough experience and determination to turn the situation around with a 4-2-3-1 tactical formation and also has the ability to read the game quite well. Mr. Ahmed Hassan - a famous Iraqi coach, commented that Coach Casas carefully selected the list this time and the forces of the lines are balanced.

Coach Ahmed Hassan said that Mr. Casas is doing a very good job of combining experienced players and young talents, especially the wingers. In addition, the attack line is considered the best line because all the players have stable scoring form and good technical qualities. Meanwhile, the Winwin website analyzed that Iraq's strongest point at the moment is Coach Casas's strategy. This coach is not only helping the Gulf team deploy a proactive style of play to control the ball and attack dynamically, but is also good at speaking before and after each match to help his students avoid pressure and loss of concentration.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/tung-thang-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-doi-iraq-se-dang-so-hon-o-asian-cup-2023-185231229215132558.htm