Iraq national under-20 football team

Iraq Under-20
Nickname(s)	Young Lions of Mesopotamia ; Leyouth Al-Rafidayn (ليوث الرافدين)
Association	IFA
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF
Head coach	Emad Mohammed
Captain	Abdul-Razzak Qasim
FIFA code	IRQ
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Iraq 3–1 Saudi Arabia; (Ahwaz, Iran; 24 February 1974)
Biggest win
	Iraq 10–0 Brunei; (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 6 April 1975)
Biggest defeat
	Brazil 6–1 Iraq; (Córdoba, Argentina; 20 June 2001)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1977)
Best result	Fourth Place: (2013)
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Appearances	17 (first in 1975)
Best result	Champions: (1975, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000)
Website	ifa.iq

The Iraq national under-20 football team represents Iraq in international football competitions in AFC U-20 Asian Cup which Iraq holds 5 titles, as well as any other international football tournaments. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Iraq, Iraq Football Association (IFA).

The team has qualified five times for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, reaching fourth place in 2013.

Iraq U-20 have been awarded the AFC National Team of the Year award once in 2013, being the only U-20 team to win this award.^[1]

Recent results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. The 2020 AFC U-19 Championship was cancelled after the draw for the group stage was conducted.^[2]

Legend

Win Draw Loss Cancelled

2022

14 October 2022 2023 U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers	Iraq	4–2	India	Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:00 UTC+03:00	Qasim 2' Abdulkareem 51' Sadiq 63' Yumnam 71' (o.g.)		G. Singh 22' Tongbram 33'	Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium

16 October 2022 2023 U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers	Kuwait	0–2	Iraq	Kuwait City, Kuwait
20:00 UTC+03:00		Report	Moussa 40' Ali 90+4'	Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Referee: Akhrol Risquallev (Uzbekistan)

18 October 2022 2023 U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers	Australia	1–0	Iraq	Kuwait City, Kuwait
17:00 UTC+03:00	Popovic 59'	Report		Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

2023

1 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Indonesia	0–2	Iraq	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
17:00		Report	Abdulkareem 28' Jameel 90+6'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 120 Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)

4 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Iraq	0–1	Uzbekistan	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
19:00		Report	Kholdorkhonov 17'	Stadium: Milliy Stadium Attendance: 32,218 Referee: Yahya Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates)

7 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Iraq	1–1	Syria	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
19:00	Abdulkareem 17'	Report	Al Ramadan 90+5'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 93 Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

11 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Iran	0–1	Iraq	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
15:00		Report	Jassim 90+1'	Stadium: JAR Stadium Attendance: 178 Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

15 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Iraq	2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	Japan	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
15:00	Jassim 12' Jameel 103'	Report	Einaga 83' Kumata 118'	Stadium: JAR Stadium Attendance: 251 Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
	Penalties
	Ali Mahdi Jassim Raad Qasim		Kumata Sano Takahashi Kitano

18 March 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup	Uzbekistan	1–0	Iraq	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
19:00	Rahmonaliyev 72' (pen.)			Stadium: Milliy Stadium

22 April 2023 Friendly	Iraq	3–2	Dominican Republic	Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, Spain
16:00 UTC+1	Ashar Ali 21' (pen.) Youssef Amyn 50' (pen.) Abdulqader Ayoub 88'		89'	Stadium: Estadio El Palmar

25 April 2023 Friendly	Iraq	1–1	Brazil	Jerez, Cádiz, Spain
19:00 UTC+1	Abdul-Razzak Qasim 45+1' (pen.)		Kevin 61'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Chapín

3 May 2023 Friendly	Iraq	2–0	Gibraltar	Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
19:00 UTC+1	Mohammed Jameel 7' Ashar Ali 28'			Stadium: Nuevo Estadio Antonio Barbadillo

22 May 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup	Uruguay	4–0	Iraq	La Plata, Argentina
18:00 UTC−4	Abaldo 38' Ferrari 48' Hassan 62' (o.g.) Matturro 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

25 May 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup	Tunisia	3–0	Iraq	La Plata, Argentina
18:00 UTC−4	Snana 55' El Djebali 57' Ghorbel 86' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

28 May 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup	Iraq	0–0	England	La Plata, Argentina
15:00 UTC−4		Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were named in the final squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Only numbers 1-21 were eligible to play in any matches.
Caps and goals correct as of 28 May 2023, after the game against England

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Hussein Hassan	(2002-11-15) 15 November 2002 (age 22)	16	0	Al-Karkh
12	1GK	Abbas Kareem	(2003-11-15) 15 November 2003 (age 21)	3	0	Al-Shorta
13	1GK	Omran Zaky	(2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Zakho

15	2DF	Abbas Manie	(2003-01-11) 11 January 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Amanat Baghdad
2	2DF	Alai Ghasem	(2003-02-16) 16 February 2003 (age 21)	8	1	IFK Göteborg
19	2DF	Sajjad Mohammed Mahdi (3rd captain)	(2003-02-25) 25 February 2003 (age 21)	15	0	Naft Maysan
4	2DF	Kadhim Raad Hatem (vice-captain)	(2003-03-05) 5 March 2003 (age 21)	16	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
22	2DF	Sajjad Mohammed Fadhil	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20)	9	0	Al-Zawraa
17	2DF	Muslim Moussa	(2005-03-11) 11 March 2005 (age 19)	10	1	Al-Mina'a
3	2DF	Roman Doulashi	(2005-08-07) 7 August 2005 (age 19)	7	0	Schalke 04
6	2DF	Adam Rasheed (4th captain)	(2006-07-10) 10 July 2006 (age 18)	13	0	Aalborg BK youth

9	3MF	Alexander Aoraha	(2003-01-17) 17 January 2003 (age 21)	5	0	Queens Park Rangers
18	3MF	Ali Sadiq	(2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 (age 21)	15	1	Al-Zawraa
5	3MF	Abdul-Razzak Qasim (captain)	(2003-02-19) 19 February 2003 (age 21)	16	2	Al-Shorta
20	3MF	Abbas Majed	(2003-10-29) 29 October 2003 (age 21)	6	0	Al-Talaba
21	3MF	Hayder Abdulkareem	(2004-08-07) 7 August 2004 (age 20)	15	3	Al-Zawraa

14	4FW	Abbas Fadhil	(2003-07-13) 13 July 2003 (age 21)	13	1	Naft Maysan
8	4FW	Abdulqader Ayoub	(2003-07-23) 23 July 2003 (age 21)	12	2	Erbil
10	4FW	Youssef Amyn	(2003-08-21) 21 August 2003 (age 21)	5	1	Feyenoord
11	4FW	Ashar Ali	(2003-09-24) 24 September 2003 (age 21)	15	3	Al-Mina'a
16	4FW	Ali Jassim	(2004-01-20) 20 January 2004 (age 20)	9	2	Antalyaspor
7	4FW	Mohammed Jameel	(2005-11-25) 25 November 2005 (age 19)	16	3	Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya
23	4FW	Mohammed Emad Mohammed	unknown	1	1	Al-Zawraa

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up recently

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Ridha Abdulaziz	unknown	0	0	Al-Diwaniya	2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup^WD
GK	Ahmed Khalid	unknown	0	0	Naft Maysan	2022 Arab Cup U-20

DF	Ali Abbas Mohesin	(2004-02-14) 14 February 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Amanat Baghdad
DF	Charbel Shamoon	(2004-02-10) 10 February 2004 (age 20)	7	0	Western United
DF	Josef Al-Imam	(2004-07-27) 27 July 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Malmo FF	Training camp, April 2023^WD

MF	Ismail Ahmed	(2003-03-04) 4 March 2003 (age 21)	9	0	Newroz
MF	Zidane Iqbal	(2003-04-27) 27 April 2003 (age 21)	3	0	Manchester United	Training camp, April 2023^CLB
MF	Mohammed Qasim Mohammed	unknown	1	0	Al-Karkh	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
MF	Taher Muthanna	unknown	0	0	Al-Zawraa	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
	Ahmed Sabah Jeayer	unknown	0	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
	Mustafa Basim	unknown	0	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
MF	Mohib Khalaf	(2004-01-31) 31 January 2004 (age 20)	0	0	IFK Göteborg	Training camp, 2023
MF	Hussein Ali Lateef	unknown	1	0	Al-Naft	2022 Arab Cup U-20
MF	Amir Hassan	(2003-07-28) 28 July 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Al-Najaf	2022 Arab Cup U-20
MF	Ameen Naby	unknown	0	0	Erbil	2022 Arab Cup U-20

FW	Abboud Rabah	(2003-05-25) 25 May 2003 (age 21)	5	0	Al-Qasim
FW	Mustafa Qabeel	(2005-01-08) 8 January 2005 (age 19)	7	0	Erbil
FW	Ali Akbar Taher	(2006-12-30) 30 December 2006 (age 17)	1	0	Al-Shorta
FW	Hassan Ali Hussein	unknown	1	0	Al-Zawraa
FW	Abbas Adel Nima	(2003-02-05) 5 February 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Al-Hudood	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
FW	Blnd Hassan	(2003-08-12) 12 August 2003 (age 21)	2	0	De Graafschap	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
FW	Amin Al-Hamawi	(2003-12-17) 17 December 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Helsingborgs	Training camp, April 2023^PRE
FW	Sajjad Ala'a	unknown	0	0	Al-Mina'a	2022 Arab Cup U-20
FW	Ali Shakhwan	(2002-09-30) 30 September 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Erbil	2022 Arab Cup U-20
^PRE Part of the preliminary squad ^INJ Player injured ^CLB Player refused by club or unable to attend due to club commitments ^U23 Player moved up to the Olympic team ^WD Player withdrew for non-injury related reasons ^UNK Unknown when the player was last with the squad

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Manager:	Emad Mohammed
Assist. manager:	Haidar Abdul-Jabar
Assist. manager:	Ahmed Wali
Assist. manager:	Ehsan Turki
Goalk. manager:	Nouri Abid Zaid
Fitnes. manager:	Waleed Jumaa
Technical analyst:	Muntadher Mujbel
Physiotherapist:	Falah Jassim
Physiotherapist:	Ahmed Khaseif
Managing Director:	Mohammed Nasser Shakroun
Technical Supervisor:	Khalaf Jalal
Team Manager:	Qahtan Al-Maliki
Media Coordinator:	Nadeem Kareem

Updated to match played April 2023
Source:^{[citation needed]}

Head coach history

Head coaches by years (2000–present)

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win %	Achievements
Thair Jassam	2000	10	4	3	3	040.00
Adnan Hamad	2000	8	4	4	0	050.00	2000 AFC Youth Championship: Champions 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship: Group Stage
Nazar Ashraf	2001	2	0	1	1	000.00
Adnan Hamad	2001	7	3	0	4	042.86
Nasrat Nassir	2001–2002	9	5	2	2	055.56
Ahmed Radhi	2002	3	2	0	1	066.67
Akram Salman	2003	0	0	0	0	!—
Hadi Mutanash	2004	0	0	0	0	!—
Abdelilah Abdul-Hamid	2005–2006	0	0	0	0	!—
Kadhim Al-Rubaie	2007	0	0	0	0	!—
Hakim Shaker	2008	12	3	5	4	025.00
Hassan Ahmed	2009–2010	11	4	1	6	036.36
Hakim Shaker	2011–2013	42	23	8	11	054.76	2012 AFC U-19 Championship: Runner-up 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup: Fourth Place AFC National Team of the Year
Muwafaq Hussein	2013	2	1	1	0	050.00
Rahim Hameed	2014	5	2	1	2	040.00
Abbas Attiya	2015–2016	13	7	6	0	053.85
Qahtan Chathir	2017–2021	26	8	9	9	030.77	2019 WAFF U-18 Championship: Champions
Emad Mohammed	2021–	25	10	6	9	040.00	2021 WAFF U-18 Championship: Champions 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup: Runner-up 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup: Group Stage

Competitive record

FIFA U-20 World Cup

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1977	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	6	8	Squad
1979	Qualified but Withdrew
1981	Did not qualify
1983
1985
1987
1989	Quarterfinals	6th	4	3	0	1	5	2	Squad
1991	Did not qualify
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001	Group stage	19th	3	1	0	2	5	9	Squad
2003	Did not qualify
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013	Fourth place	4th	7	3	3	1	11	11	Squad
2015	Did not qualify
2017
2019
2023	Group stage	21st	3	0	1	2	0	7	Squad
Total	Fourth place	5/22	20	8	4	8	27	37	—

FIFA U-20 World Cup history
Year	Round	Score	Result
1977
	Group stage	Iraq 1–3 Soviet Union	Loss
	Group stage	Iraq 5–1 Austria	Win
	Group stage	Iraq 0–4 Paraguay	Loss
1989
	Group stage	Iraq 1–0 Norway	Win
	Group stage	Iraq 2–0 Spain	Win
	Group stage	Iraq 1–0 Argentina	Win
	Quarterfinals	Iraq 1–2 United States	Loss
2001
	Group stage	Iraq 3–0 Canada	Win
	Group stage	Iraq 1–6 Brazil	Loss
	Group stage	Iraq 1–3 Germany	Loss
2013
	Group stage	Iraq 2–2 England	Draw
	Group stage	Iraq 2–1 Egypt	Win
	Group stage	Iraq 2–1 Chile	Win
	Round of 16	Iraq 1–0 (a.e.t.) Paraguay	Win
	Quarterfinals	Iraq 3–3 (a.e.t.)(pen 5-4) South Korea	Draw
	Semifinals	Iraq 1–1 (a.e.t.)(pen 6-7) Uruguay	Draw
	3rd Place	Iraq 0–3 Ghana	Loss
2023
	Group stage	Iraq 0–4 Uruguay	Loss
	Group stage	Iraq 0–3 Tunisia	Loss
	Group stage	Iraq 0–0 England	Draw

AFC U-20 Asian Cup record

AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1975	Champions	6	5	1	0	18	1
1976	Quarter-finals	4	3	1	0	13	1
1977	Champions	5	5	0	0	19	4
1978	Champions	6	4	2	0	20	2
1980	did not enter
1982	Third Place	3	1	0	2	4	5
1985	did not qualify
1986	did not qualify
1988	Champions	5	2	3	0	5	3
1990	did not enter
1992	did not enter
1994	Fourth Place	6	2	2	2	8	8
1996	did not enter
1998	Group stage	4	1	0	3	6	13
2000	Champions	6	3	3	0	11	3
2002	did not qualify
2004	Quarterfinals	4	3	0	1	7	1	Squad
2006	Quarterfinals	4	2	1	1	8	5	Squad
2008	Group stage	3	1	0	2	3	5	Squad
2010	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	7	Squad
2012	Runners-up	6	4	2	0	10	3	Squad
2014	Group stage	3	1	1	1	8	3	Squad
2016	Quarterfinals	4	2	2	0	7	2	Squad
2018	Group stage	3	0	1	2	3	9	Squad
2023	Runners-up	6	2	2	2	6	5	Squad
Total	Best: Champions	81	41	21	19	156	80

Arab Cup U-20 record

Arab Cup U-20
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2011	Group stage	4	2	0	2	6	4
2012	Group stage	3	0	1	2	6	9
2020	Quarter-finals	4	1	1	2	3	3
2021	Group stage	3	1	1	1	7	5
2022	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	5
Total	Best: Quarter-finals	16	4	3	9	23	26

WAFF U-18 Championship record

WAFF U-18 Championship
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2019	Champions	4	1	2	1	5	6
2021	Champions	5	3	1	1	9	1
Total	Best: Champions	9	4	3	2	14	7

Minor tournaments

Year	Tournament	Result	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1983	Palestine Cup of Nations for Youth	Champions	7	5	2	0	16	4
1985	Al-Wehdat Championship	Champions	3	2	1	0	4	2
1985	Palestine Cup of Nations for Youth	Third place	7	4	1	2	10	5
1989	Palestine Cup of Nations for Youth	Runners-up	6	4	0	2	11	5
1990	Al-Wehdat Championship	Champions	5	3	2	0	6	1
2013	Jordan Friendly Quartet Championship	Champions	3	3	0	0	5	1

Iraqi Premier League

Season	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1990–91	13	4	5	4	8	13	–5	13	Second half of season
1993–94	25	8	8	9	33	29	+4	24	First half of season; replaced by Babil

Honours

Titles

FIFA U-20 World Cup

Fourth place: 2013

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Champions (5): 1975*, 1977, 1978*, 1988, 2000 (* shared)

Runners-up (2): 2012, 2023

Third place: 1982

Awards

AFC National Team of the Year: 2013

References

^ The-AFC.com - Iraq u20 the 2013 Asian Team of the Year
^ "Latest update on AFC Competitions in 2021". Asian Football Confederation. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

External links

[1] The-AFC.com - Iraq u20 the 2013 Asian Team of the Year

[cancelled-2] "Latest update on AFC Competitions in 2021". Asian Football Confederation. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

[1]

[2]

v t e National under-20 football teams of Asia (AFC)
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
West Asia (WAFF)	Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Central Asia (CAFA)	Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
South Asia (SAFF)	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
East Asia (EAFF)	China Chinese Taipei¹ Guam Hong Kong Japan Macau Mongolia North Korea Northern Mariana Islands² South Korea
Southeast Asia (AFF)	Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam
¹ Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, competes as "Chinese Taipei" ² Not a member of FIFA