Iraq national under-23 football team

Iraq U-23

Nickname(s)	Asiad Asia
Association	IFA
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Abdul Ghani Shahad
Captain	Mustafa Nadhim
FIFA code	IRQ
First colours Second colours
Olympic Games (Since 1992)
Appearances	1 (First in 2004)
Best result	Fourth Place (2004)
Asian Games (Since 1994)
Appearances	2 (First in 2006)
Best result	Runners-up (2006)
AFC U-23 Championship
Appearances	2 (First in 2013)
Best result	Champions (2013)

Iraq national under-23 football team (also known as Iraq Under-23 or Iraq Olympic Team) represents Iraq in international football competitions in Olympic Games and Asian Games, as well as any other under-23, under-22, and under-21 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iraq Football Federation. Iraq Olympic Team reached fourth place in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens won the silver medal in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, and the bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

History

2004 Athens Olympics

After 16 years without participation, Iraq qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics after winning the 2004 Olympic Asian Qualifiers under head coach Adnan Hamad and were scheduled to play against Costa Rica, Morocco and Portugal in the group stages. At the Olympics Iraq started with a shocking 4–2 win against Portugal. That was followed by a 2–0 win against Costa Rica and a 2–1 loss to Morocco. The quarter-finals saw them beat Australia 1–0, and in the semi-final against Paraguay, Iraq lost 3–1. In the bronze medal match, Iraq lost 1–0 and finished fourth.

2013 AFC U-22 Championship

Iraq's first major honour on U-23 level was the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship. The tournament started with a 3–1 win against Saudi Arabia. That was followed by a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan and a 1–0 win against China. The quarter-finals saw them beat Japan 1–0, and the semi-final against favourites Korea Republic with another 1–0 win.

The final was against local rivals Saudi Arabia, and Mohannad Abdul-Raheem scored the only goal to win the tournament for Iraq. This victory secured Iraq's first Asian Cup U-23 title.

2016 AFC U-23 Championship

The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament is to be held in Qatar from 12–30 January 2016. Iraq qualified for the tournament by topping the group in the qualification stage in Oman in March 2015.

Iraq advanced from the group stage, beating Yemen 2–0, Uzbekistan 3–2, and a 1–1 tie with South Korea.

In the quarterfinals, Iraq beat UAE 3–1 in extra time to progress to the semifinals. Iraq lost 2–1 to Japan.

In the third place match, Iraq came back from behind to beat Qatar 2–1 to qualify for 2016 Olympics.

2016 Rio Olympics

Iraq qualified for the 2016 Olympics by clinching third place at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Iraq got drawn with Brazil, Denmark and South Africa.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarter-finals
2	South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Iraq	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played on 4 August 2016. Source: Rio2016
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal differential; 3) Goals scored; 4) Repeat 1–3 for matches between teams still tied; 5) Lots drawn by FIFA
(H) Host.

Competitions Record

Olympic Games

Olympic Games Record Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA 1992 Did Not Enter 1996 Did Not Qualify 2000 2004 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 0 3 9 8 2008 Did Not Qualify 2012 2016 Qualified 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Best: Fourth Place 2/7 6 3 0 3 9 8 AFC U-23 Championship AFC U-23 Championship Finals Record Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA 2013 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 9 2 2016 Third Place 3rd 6 4 1 1 12 7 Total Best: Champions 2/2 12 10 1 1 21 9 Football at the Asian Games Since 1994, the Olympic team has been drawn from a squad with a maximum of three players over 23 years of age, and the achievements of this team are not generally regarded as part of the national team's records, nor are the statistics credited to the players' international records. Asian Games Finals Record Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA From 1951 until 1990 editions are part of Iraq senior team Record 1994 Banned^1 1998 2002 2006 Silver Medal 2nd 9 6 1 2 17 3 2010 Did not enter 2014 Bronze medal 3rd 7 6 0 1 18 4 Total Best: Silver Medal 2/6 16 12 1 3 35 7 ^1 Iraq was banned from the competition from 1991 to 2002 due to the Gulf War. West Asian Football Federation Championship WAFF Championship Year Result GP W D* L GF GA 2014 Group stage 2 0 2 0 0 0 Total Best: Group Stage 2 0 2 0 0 0 Gulf Cup of Nations Gulf Cup Year Result GP W D* L GF GA 2016 TBD TBD 0 0 0 0 0 Total Best: TBD 1/1 0 0 0 0 0 Matches Recent results and fixtures       Win       Draw       Lose Iraq  v  North Korea 2 January 2016 Friendly Iraq  3–1  North Korea Dubai, UAE Iraq  v  Saudi Arabia 6 January 2016 Friendly Iraq  3–0  Saudi Arabia Dubai, UAE Iraq  v  Yemen 13 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Iraq  2–0  Yemen Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 19:30 Ali F.  36' (pen.) Ali H.  39' Report Attendance: 545 Referee: Ryuji Sato Japan Uzbekistan  v  Iraq 16 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Uzbekistan  2–3  Iraq Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 19:30 Khamdamov  1' Khakimov  79' Report Amjad A.  38' Mahdi K.  43' Humam T.  84' Attendance: 686 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf Oman Iraq  v  South Korea 19 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Iraq  1–1  South Korea Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha 19:30 Amjad W.  90+2' Report Kim Hyun  22' Attendance: 1,086 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim Qatar United Arab Emirates  v  Iraq 23 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship United Arab Emirates  1–3  Iraq Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha 19:30 Alaa A.  75' (o.g.) Report Ali H.  77' Mohannad A.  103' Amjad A.  120+3' Attendance: 1,030 Referee: Chris Beath Australia Japan  v  Iraq 26 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Japan  2–1  Iraq Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha 16:30 Kubo  26' Harakawa  90+3' Report Saad N.  43' Attendance: 1,489 Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Malaysia Qatar  v  Iraq 29 January 2016 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qatar  1–2  Iraq Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 17:45 A. Alaa  27' Report Mohannad A.  86' Ayman H.  109' Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) Iraq  v  Denmark 4 August 2016 2016 Olympic Games Iraq  v  Denmark Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília 13:00 Brazil  v  Iraq 7 August 2016 2016 Olympic Games Brazil  v  Iraq Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília 22:00 South Africa  v  Iraq 10 August 2016 2016 Olympic Games South Africa  v  Iraq Arena Corinthians, São Paulo 22:00 Players Current squad The following 35 players were called up for the 2016 Olympics (preliminary): Caps and goals are correct as of January 29, 2016 match against  Qatar. Caps and goals are correct excluding friendly matches and unrecognized tournaments such as 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games . 0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club GK Fahad Talib October 21, 1994 9 0 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya GK Jalal Hassan May 18, 1991 8 0 Al-Shorta GK Mohammed Hameed January 24, 1993 7 0 Al-Talaba GK Mustafa Saadoun January 28, 1994 0 0 Al-Naft GK Karrar Ibrahim July 1, 1993 1 0 Al-Minaa DF Mustafa Nadhim September 23, 1993 28 4 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya DF Dhurgham Ismail May 23, 1994 12 1 Rizespor DF Saad Natiq March 19, 1994 11 1 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya DF Ali Adnan December 19, 1993 10 5 Udinese DF Ali Faez September 9, 1994 9 1 Al-Shorta DF Safa Jabbar July 20, 1993 7 0 Zakho DF Ahmad Ibrahim February 25, 1992 6 0 Unattached DF Hamza Adnan February 8, 1996 5 0 Al-Minaa DF Alaa Ali Mhawi June 3, 1996 5 0 Al-Zawraa DF Mohammed Maan July 10, 1994 3 0 Al-Naft DF Waleed Salem January 5, 1992 2 0 Al-Shorta DF Hawbir Mustafa January 18, 1996 0 0 MVV Maastricht DF Ali Lateef September 23, 1993 0 0 Diwaniya MF Mahdi Kamel January 6, 1995 26 6 Al-Shorta MF Humam Tariq February 10, 1996 12 5 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya MF Bashar Rasan December 22, 1996 12 3 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya MF Ali Husni May 23, 1994 9 3 Al-Minaa MF Amjad Waleed June 1, 1993 6 5 Naft Al-Wasat MF Amjad Attwan March 12, 1997 5 2 Al-Shorta MF Ahmed Yasin April 22, 1991 5 0 AIK MF Saad Abdul-Amir January 19, 1992 4 0 Al-Qadisiyah MF Ali Qasim March 5, 1996 4 0 Al-Minaa MF Yaser Kasim May 10, 1991 1 0 Swindon Town MF Rebin Asaad October 31, 1994 0 0 Ängelholms FF FW Mohannad Abdul-Raheem September 22, 1993 15 5 Al-Zawraa FW Ayman Hussein March 22, 1996 9 3 Al-Naft FW Ammar Abdul-Hussein February 13, 1993 8 2 Al-Minaa FW Abdul-Qadir Tariq July 1, 1994 2 1 Al-Talaba FW Sherko Karim May 25, 1996 0 0 Grasshopper FW Justin Meram December 4, 1988 0 0 Columbus Crew Recent callups The following players have also been called up to Iraqi squad for the last 12 months. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up DF Ahmed Mohammed March 10, 1994 1 0 Al-Shorta 2016 AFC U-23 Championship DF Mohammed Jabbar Rubat June 29, 1993 4 0 Al-Minaa v.  Saudi Arabia, January 6, 2016 MF Saif Salman July 1, 1993 12 0 Al-Ittihad 2016 AFC U-23 Championship FW Mazen Faiadh April 2, 1997 3 0 Al-Naft 2016 AFC U-23 Championship FW Bassim Ali January 23, 1995 1 0 Naft Al-Janoob 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Previous squads Olympic Games 2004 Olympic Games squad 2016 Olympic Games squad AFC U-23 Championship 2013 AFC-U23 Championship squad 2016 AFC-U23 Championship squad Asian Games 2006 Asian Games squad 2014 Asian Games squad Records Wild card players Athens 2004 Haidar Abdul-Jabar (27) Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail (27) Razzaq Farhan (27) Incheon 2014 Mahdi Karim (30) Younis Mahmoud (31) Salam Shaker (28) Rio 2016 Coaches Name Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Win % Achievements Adnan Hamad 2003–2004 16 8 1 7 50.00 Qualified for 2004 Olympics Fourth place at 2004 Olympics Yahya Alwan 2005–2007 21 12 6 3 57.14 Nadhim Shaker 2009–2011 2 2 0 0 100.000 Radhi Shenaishil 2011–2012 24 11 5 8 45.83 Hakim Shaker 2012–2014 18 15 2 1 83.33 Winner of the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship Third place at the 2014 Asian Games Yahya Alwan 2015 6 5 1 0 83.33 Qualified for 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Abdul Ghani Shahad 2015– 10 8 1 1 80.00 Third place at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualified for 2016 Olympics Honours Major tournaments Olympic Games Fourth place (1): 2004 AFC U-23 Championship Winners (1): 2013 Third place (1): 2016 Asian Games Runners-up (1): 2006 Third place (1): 2014 Minor tournaments Norway Cup Winners (1): 2008 International Friendship Cup Winners (1): 2003 Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Winners (1): 1998 See also Iraq national football team Iraq national under-20 football team Iraq national under-17 football team Iraqi League References External links Team info at Goalzz.com Matches