Baghdad: Zidane al-Rubai
The Iraqi national football team defeated Zambia 3-1 in a friendly match at the Al-Madinah International Stadium in the capital Baghdad as part of the “Rafidain Lions” preparations for the United Arab Emirates. Syria will play in the World Cup qualifiers on the twenty-fourth and twenty-ninth of this month.
In the 10th minute, Amjad Advan’s ball was caught by one of the defenders of the Zambian national team and was converted by Derkham Ismail. Ahmed Ibrahim, the defender and captain of the Iraqi team, scored the second goal with a kick a corner and Ibrahim entered the net with his head to score the second goal in the 23rd minute. Amidst the surprise of goalkeeper Mohammad Hamid, he headed home the ball into the net in the 29th minute to give Iraq a 2-1 lead in the first half.
In the second half, the Zambian team became more active, prompting coach Abdul Ghani Shah to make a number of changes, and he replaced Hassan with Abbas Qasim, Ahmed Farhan, Ayman Hussein, Saad al-Amir, Bashar Rasan and Mustafa Mohammed. Raed, Ali Hosni, Muhannad Abdel Rahim, Muhammad Ali Aboud, Ibrahim Bayesh and Sherko Karim, and substitute Ayman. Hussein scored the third goal in the 78th minute with a powerful and surprising shot from outside the penalty area.
The match was attended by a large number of people who had gathered in the stadiums.