Iraq national under-23 football team

Iraq U-23

Nickname(s)

Asiad Asia

Association

IFA

Confederation

AFC (Asia)

Head coach

IRQ

First colours

Second colours

Olympic Games (Since 1992)

Appearances

2 (first in 2004)

Best result

Fourth place (2004)

Asian Games (Since 2002)

Appearances

2 (first in 2006)

Best result

Runners-up (2006)

AFC U-23 Championship

Appearances

2 (first in 2013)

Best result

Champions (2013)

Iraq Youth Teams' System
Olympic (Under-23, Under-22, and Under-21)
Leyouth (Under-20, Under-19, and Under-18)
Ashbal (Under-17, Under-16, and Under-15)
Bara'em (Under-14, Under-13, and Below)

Iraq national under-23 football team (also known as Iraq Under-23 or Iraq Olympic Team) represents Iraq in international football competitions in Olympic Games and Asian Games, as well as any other under-23, under-22, and under-21 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. Iraq Olympic Team reached fourth place in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens won the silver medal in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, and the bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

History

2004 Athens Olympics

After 16 years without participation, Iraq qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics after winning the 2004 Olympic Asian Qualifiers under head coach Adnan Hamad and were scheduled to play against Costa Rica, Morocco and Portugal in the group stages. At the Olympics Iraq started with a shocking 4–2 win against Portugal. That was followed by a 2–0 win against Costa Rica and a 2–1 loss to Morocco. The quarter-finals saw them beat Australia 1–0, and in the semi-final against Paraguay, Iraq lost 3–1. In the bronze medal match, Iraq lost 1–0 and finished fourth.

2013 AFC U-22 Championship

Iraq's first major honour on U-23 level was the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship. The tournament started with a 3–1 win against Saudi Arabia. That was followed by a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan and a 1–0 win against China. The quarter-finals saw them beat Japan 1–0, and the semi-final against favourites Korea Republic with another 1–0 win.

The final was against local rivals Saudi Arabia, and Mohannad Abdul-Raheem scored the only goal to win the tournament for Iraq. This victory secured Iraq's first Asian Cup U-23 title.

2016 AFC U-23 Championship

The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament is to be held in Qatar from 12–30 January 2016. Iraq qualified for the tournament by topping the group in the qualification stage in Oman in March 2015.

Iraq advanced from the group stage, beating Yemen 2–0, Uzbekistan 3–2, and a 1–1 tie with South Korea. In the quarterfinals, Iraq beat UAE 3–1 in extra time to progress to the semifinals. Iraq lost 2–1 to Japan.

In the third place match, Iraq came back from behind to beat Qatar 2–1 to qualify for 2016 Olympics.

2016 Rio Olympics

Iraq line-up before a match with Brazil at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Iraq qualified for the 2016 Olympics by clinching third place at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. The first game saw Iraq play against Denmark, and the score turned out as a 0–0 draw, despite Iraq having 18 shots in the match. The second game was played against the hosts and pre-tournament favourites, Brazil, which also ended up as a 0–0 draw, which was hailed as a great result for Iraq. In the third game, Iraq tied South Africa 1–1, despite having a huge 29 shots in the match. This result, coupled with Denmark's defeat to Brazil, saw Iraq get eliminated at the group stage.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil (H)	3	1	2	0	4	0	+4	5	Quarter-finals
2	Denmark	3	1	1	1	1	4	−3	4	Quarter-finals
3	Iraq	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
4	South Africa	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2

Source: Rio2016 & FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host.

Competitions Record

Olympic tournaments

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record									Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1988	See Iraq Senior Team record								See Iraq Senior Team record
1992	Did not enter								Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify								9	4	3	2	14	8
2000	Did not qualify								4	1	2	1	7	10
2004	Fourth place	4th	6	3	0	3	9	8	10	5	1	4	17	12
2008	Did not qualify								12	6	5	1	21	8
2012	Did not qualify								8	3	2	3	7	7
2016	Group stage	12th	3	0	3	0	1	1	10	7	2	1	27	11
2020	To be determined								0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Best: Fourth place	2/7	9	3	3	3	10	9	53	26	15	12	93	56