Content deleted Content added
m Disambiguating links to Australia national soccer team (link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team; link changed to Australia men's national soccer team) using [[User:Qwertyytrewqqwerty... |
|||
Line 109:
The '''Iraq national football team''' ({{lang-ar|منتخب الْعِرَاق لِكُرَةُ الْقَدَم}}) represents [[Iraq]] in international [[Association football|football]] and is controlled by the [[Iraq Football Association]] (IFA), the governing body for [[football in Iraq]]. Iraq's usual home venue is the [[Basra International Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50008381|title=Iraq 2-0 Hong Kong: Iraq hosts competitive football for first time in eight years|date=10 October 2019|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
Iraq has made one [[FIFA World Cup]] appearance in [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]], scoring its only goal against [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]]. Iraq is one of eight current [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] nations to have won the [[AFC Asian Cup]], claiming the title in [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007]] in spite of difficult conditions and limited preparation. Iraq defeated some of the favourites in the competition including [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]], [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] and [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi Arabia]]. This qualified them for the [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup]] where they earned two points in the group stage; they later finished fourth at the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage|2015 AFC Asian Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/en/news/afc-asian-cup-2019-group-d-preview-iran-iraq/17x6fhpkw5m2819u9yj0mu6iij|title=AFC Asian Cup 2019: Group D Preview - Iran, Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen|publisher=Goal.com|date=30 December 2018|last=Peter|first=Ashish}}</ref>
Iraq is the current holder of the [[Arabian Gulf Cup]], having hosted and won the tournament in [[25th Arabian Gulf Cup|2023]], and is also the [[FIFA Arab Cup|Arab Cup]]'s most successful nation with four titles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-wins-gulf-cup-returns-hosting-international-tournament|title=Iraq celebrates Gulf Cup football win as it returns to hosting international tournaments|publisher=Middle East Eye|date=20 January 2023}}</ref> Iraq is known for its passionate football fans and the national team is seen as a symbol of hope and unity for Iraqi people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/a-united-iraq-to-face-down-japan-in-asian-cup/dy2rmkufc|title=A united Iraq to face down Japan in Asian Cup|publisher=SBS News|date=14 January 2015}}</ref> The team reached its highest [[FIFA World Rankings|FIFA World Ranking]] of 39th in October 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/690018/arab-cup-an-opportunity-for-all-arabs-iraqi-minister-of-youth-and-sports|title=Arab Cup an opportunity for all Arabs: Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports|publisher=Gulf Times|date=27 April 2021}}</ref>
Line 123:
===1970s===
In [[1972 AFC Asian Cup|1972]], Iraq played at their first ever [[AFC Asian Cup]] but failed to win a game in the tournament. In March 1973, Iraq played their first ever [[FIFA World Cup]] qualifying campaign. They finished second in their [[1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)#Group 2 2|group]], a point behind [[Australia men's national
===1980s – First Golden Generation===
Line 181:
====2010 FIFA World Cup qualification====
Under [[Egil Olsen]], Iraq advanced from the first round by beating [[Pakistan national football team|Pakistan]] 7-0 on aggregate. Then they were drawn with [[Australia men's national
The next two matches saw Iraq lose twice to [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]] and [[Australia men's national
On 26 May 2008, FIFA decided to suspend Iraq from all international competitions after the [[Iraq Football Association]] was disbanded by the government on 20 May 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-fifairaq_urgent&prov=reuters&type=lgns |title=FIFA suspends Iraq from international competition |date=26 May 2008 |access-date=26 May 2008 |work=[[Yahoo! Sports]] }}</ref> The suspension was provisionally and conditionally lifted on 29 May 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/releases/newsid=781993.html?cid=rssfeed&att= |title=Suspension of Iraqi Football Association provisionally and conditionally lifted |date=29 May 2008 |access-date=29 May 2008 |publisher=[[FIFA]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607000427/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/releases/newsid%3D781993.html?cid=rssfeed&att= |archive-date=7 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Line 208:
Under coach [[Wolfgang Sidka]], Iraq were drawn into the [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round|second round]] of qualifiers where they faced [[Yemen national football team|Yemen]]. Iraq defeated Yemen 2–0 in [[Arbil]] on 23 July before drawing 0–0 in [[Al Ain]] five days later. Iraq advanced to the [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round|third round]] of qualifiers where they were grouped with [[Jordan national football team|Jordan]], [[China PR national football team|China]] and [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]]. The IFA announced it would not renew Wolfgang Sidka's contract on 2 August 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en/news/14/asia/2011/08/02/2601165/wolfgang-sidka-dismissed-as-iraq-coach-despite-2014-world |title=Wolfgang Sidka dismissed as Iraq coach |access-date=19 April 2013 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012132000/http://www.goal.com/en/news/14/asia/2011/08/02/2601165/wolfgang-sidka-dismissed-as-iraq-coach-despite-2014-world |url-status=live }}</ref> On 29 August 2011, Brazilian legend [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]] signed a one-year contract to become the new coach of Iraq.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/950634/brazil-legend-zico-agrees-deal-to-coach-iraq?cc=5739 | title=Soccer on ESPN - Scores, Stats and Highlights | access-date=19 April 2013 | archive-date=27 September 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927162117/http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/950634/brazil-legend-zico-agrees-deal-to-coach-iraq?cc=5739 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Iraq topped Group A with 15 points, and in the final qualification stage was drawn with [[Jordan national football team|Jordan]], [[Japan national football team|Japan]], [[Australia men's national
On 28 November 2012, Zico resigned as head coach.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/zico-resigns-as-iraq-national-team-coach.aspx?pageID=238&nid=35693 | title=Zico resigns as Iraq national team coach - Turkish News | date=28 November 2012 | access-date=18 April 2013 | archive-date=3 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203045300/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/zico-resigns-as-iraq-national-team-coach.aspx?pageID=238&nid=35693 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Iraqi FA appointed [[Vladimir Petrović]] as his replacement on 25 February 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-asian-cup-news-centre/asiancup2015-all-news/25284-iraq-appoints-head-coach-petrovic-250213.html |title=AFC Asian Cup |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-date=1 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301033314/http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-asian-cup-news-centre/asiancup2015-all-news/25284-iraq-appoints-head-coach-petrovic-250213.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, on 11 June 2013, Iraq lost 1-0 to [[Japan national football team|Japan]] in [[Doha]] and were eliminated from the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]] qualifiers.
Line 223:
After initially starting well with a 5-1 win against [[Chinese Taipei national football team|Chinese Taipei]], two consecutive draws against [[Thailand national football team|Thailand]] and [[Vietnam national football team|Vietnam]] left Iraq in real danger of missing out on the final round. On 24 March 2016, Iraq tied 2-2 with [[Thailand national football team|Thailand]] and Alwan was replaced with [[Abdul-Ghani Shahad]]. Five days later, he led Iraq to the final round and [[2019 AFC Asian Cup]] by beating [[Vietnam national football team|Vietnam]] 1-0.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}
On 15 April 2016, [[Radhi Shenaishil]] became the new coach of Iraq in order to lead the team in the [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round|final round]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://footballchannel.asia/2016/04/15/post10662/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=18 June 2023 |archive-date=9 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209121517/http://footballchannel.asia/2016/04/15/post10662/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> For the final round, Iraq was drawn with [[Japan national football team|Japan]], [[Australia men's national
[[Basim Qasim]] was appointed for the remainder of the qualifiers and Iraq finished fifth in the [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC third round|final round]] of the [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification]].
| |||