Only placing second in Group D helps U23 Vietnam meet an easier opponent (in theory) in the quarterfinals, U23 Iraq. But the question is, is Iraq U23 really easier to play than Saudi Arabia U23?
U23 Vietnam will face U23 Iraq in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian U23 Football Championship, instead of meeting defending champion U23 Saudi Arabia. So is Iraq U23 really easier to play than Saudi Arabia U23?
The 0-3 defeat to U23 Uzbekistan in the final round of the group stage last night left U23 Vietnam ranked second in Group D behind this same opponent. But this could be good news for coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team because only placing second in Group D helps U23 Vietnam meet an easier opponent (in theory) in the quarterfinals, U23 Iraq.
However, the question is whether Iraq U23 is really weaker than Saudi Arabia U23?
In terms of squad strength, the answer may be yes. At this year’s U23 Asian Championship, coach Radhi Shenaishil brought to Qatar a squad mostly made up of young players playing in the country.
Specifically, the Iraq U23 squad playing U23 Asia this year has up to 17 players playing domestically, 4 playing in Europe and 1 playing in the Iranian championship. However, the four Iraqi U23 players playing in Europe are not too prominent as they only play in Sweden, Portugal, and Germany. Two players playing in Sweden are Josef Al-Imam (Malmo) and Amin Al-Hamawi (Helsingborgs).
Meanwhile, 18-year-old young talent Roman Doulashi is currently on the staff of Schalke 04 in Germany’s Second Division, but this young defender has not yet been able to break into the main squad of Iraq U23. Up to this point, Doulashi has only played once for Iraq U23.
The remaining Iraqi U23 player playing in Europe is Ali Almosawe, who plays for Portugal’s Estrela Amadora. However, despite being quite mature (22 years old), Almosawe has not yet been able to play once at this year’s Asian U23 tournament.
The most notable and experienced player of U23 Iraq at this year’s U23 Asian Championship is probably Muntadher Mohammed, who is currently on the staff of Esteghlal Club (Iran) but plays for Mes Rafsanjan on loan. Mohammed has made 25 appearances for Iraq U23 (scoring 3 goals) and was called up to the Iraq national team twice.
Of course, you can’t just look at the squad to judge whether Iraq U23 is really formidable or not. Not to mention Iraq U23 can still be considered an “unknown” at this year’s tournament when they lost to Thailand but won against Saudi Arabia.
At the 2018 Asian U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam, despite being underestimated, still surpassed U23 Iraq to win tickets to the Semi-finals./.
U23 Vietnam and U23 Iraq will face each other in the final match at the 2024 U23 Asia quarterfinals, at 0:30 a.m. April 27 (Vietnam time) at Al Janoub Stadium.
