U23 Vietnam plays U23 Iraq in U23 Asia, decoding U23 Iraq

Role of Ali Jasim

In U23 Asia 2024, U23 Iraq opens with 0-2 loss to Thailand U23but then there was a strong rise to enter the quarterfinals at the top of Group C.

The biggest difference for U23 Iraq comes from Ali Jasim, a promising talent but was placed on the bench by coach Radhi Shenaishil in the first match.

Since the second match against U23 Tajikistan, Ali Jasim was placed in the starting role as an attacking midfielder, in the 4-2-3-1 system, and made great contributions.

U23 Iraq beat U23 Tajikistan 4-2, with 1 goal from Ali Jasim from the penalty spot, along with 2 decisive assists.

In the final match of the group stage, Ali Jasim once again scored from the penalty spot, bringing a 2-1 victory to U23 Iraq, and a ticket to the quarterfinals as the leader of Group C, against U23 Vietnam.

Energy in the middle of the field

In the kicking style of U23 Iraqcoach Shenaishil made a big difference by pulling attacking midfielder Muntadher Mohammed to defense.

This arrangement helps Muntadher have the ability to organize attacks from a distance, regulate the ball in the middle and play a finishing role from the back line.

The opening goal that Muntadher scored in the win over U23 Tajikistan clearly demonstrated his danger when kicking low.

Pairing with Muntadher is likely Hussein Amer, a central defender whom Mr. Shenaishil turned into a defensive midfielder.

Amer is responsible for shielding his partner and supporting defense from afar. The 21-year-old player, with a height of 1.82 m, stands out in duels as well as aerial combat situations.

In the victory over U23 Saudi Arabia, Amer’s role was very important. He won 100% of duels and aerial duels, along with 5 rescue situations.

Minh Khoa and Thai Son, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s favorite central midfield pair U23 Asia 2024must be cautious when facing Hussein Amer, the lung in the Iraq U23 system.

The ball is long and close

Iraq U23 is not really good at passing the ball. The Mesopotamian Lion’s accuracy rate is 79%, slightly lower than U23 Vietnam (80%).

Instead, Iraq U23 chose a fast pressing style. After the group stage, coach Shenaishil’s team was in the top group in terms of winning rate in duels.

When they have the ball, Iraq U23’s solution is often long passes to change status and quickly counterattack.

Iraq U23’s long passes are quite diverse, can come from the midfield, or left back Ahmed Maknazi. The most frequent is still midfielder Zaid Tahseen.

Tahseen – Best player of the match with U23 Saudi Arabia – is a modern central defender (1.93 m tall), has very good interception ability, and makes highly dangerous passes.

At the age of 23, Tahseen has experience with the Iraqi national team. Therefore, he became a key link for Coach Shenaishil to build a team with the ambition of winning Olympic tickets in 2024.

In case you need to control the ball with short passes, midfielder Karrar Saad will appear. This is a solution to create flexibility when Iraq U23 wants to impose its position on the game.

The heroic battle at Al Janoub Stadium (0:30 on April 27) against a stronger opponent in many aspects is truly an important lesson for coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s U23 Vietnam to become more mature.