A moment of glory for the boys from the war-torn country, Iraq. A country whose name would bring to our minds of very few things other than guns, tanks and battlefields and least of all football! Iraq drew the match with the two times world champions Mexico in the FIFA U-17 World Cup to a score of 1-1.
It has been a very proud and a joyous moment for the team from Iraq in their first match at the U17 Fifa Football World Cup played in the City of Joy, Kolkata. The team managed their first ever point in an under 17 World Cup game. The sixty thousand football fans at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata witnessed a cracker of a game played between the two-time champions Mexico and the underdogs who have never won a point in the U17 world cup matches, Iraq.
It was all out action on the field right from the start! In around the 16th minute freshly into the game, the leading striker of Iraq Mohammed Dawood came running in with the ball from the left flank and netted the ball beautifully into the goal. Into the 22nd minute, the Iraqi goalkeeper Abadi jumped high, punched the ball brilliantly over the upper bar of the goal post and saved a crucial equaliser that was coming from the Mexican side of attack!
Dawood showed his skills on and off and was proven to be a fine player, someone to look out for in this World Cup. During the second half, Dawood had once again beaten the offside and ran in with the ball towards the goal. He outran the Mexican defenders and was attacking well from the right wing. He finally shot the ball which was well saved by the Mexican keeper in the end.
Ibadi kept on helping the side with his brilliant saves one after the other till the very 50th minute when De La Rosa of Mexico received a perfect pass right at the centre of the penalty box which he made no mistake in converting into a very fine goal!
Credit goes to Ibadi, the Iraqi goalkeeper for saving quite a few crucial goals especially during the second half of the game while the Mexican side was in full throttle attacking from all directions. Some were difficult saves which Ibadi executed with perfection and helped the score remain a 1-1 draw.
The Iraqi side would be brimming with confidence in the run-up to their next match with Chile. It would be an interesting contest to see whether they can pull off a victory this time and are able to move ahead to the second round of this exciting contest!
