Iraq plot Eaglets shock
Iraq have said that they plan to
exploit the weak defence line of the Golden Eaglets in tomorrow’s final group F
game in Dubai.
Iraq are almost out of the
competition but stand a chance of qualifying to the second round as one of the
best losers from the six groups of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab
Emirates.
Iraq’s Ali Qasim (R) fights for the
ball against Mexico’s Osvaldo Rodriguez during their FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE
2013 football match at the Shiekh Khalifa International Stadium in al-Ain, on
October 22, 2013. AFP PHOTO
For them to progress, they must beat
the Eaglets with a wide margin while hoping that another high-scoring winner
emerges from the other match between Sweden and Mexico.
And reacting to the many
permutations unfolding ahead of Friday’s matches, Iraq Coach Muwafaq Zaidan
said that they have noticed that the Eaglets were very weak in the defence,
which he said would count to their advantage.
“We still have a chance of
qualifying if we beat the Nigerians and from what we have seen, they are not
strong in the defence and we hope to exploit this weakness.
“Our players have leant a lot from
the two losses to Sweden and Mexico. We want to finish this group phase with a
win and our hopes are in place if we play well and not feel intimidated by
the exploits of the Nigerian team”, added Zaidan
