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	Ehsan Turki
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[edit]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

Win Draw Loss Cancelled

2023[edit]

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

2024[edit]

20 March 2024 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship	Australia	2–1	Iraq	Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
	D'Arrigo 10' A. Kuol 15'		H. Jaafar 48'	Stadium: Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium

23 March 2024 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship	Iraq	1–1 (4–3 p)	United Arab Emirates	Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
	Sadiq 53'		Al-Mansoori 34'	Stadium: Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium
	Penalties
	Haydar Mahdi Mokhalad K. Jaafar H. Jaafar		Al-Maazmi Bader Al-Kass Ahmed Al-Balooshi

26 March 2024 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship	Iraq	1–3	Jordan	Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
	Bani Hani 45+1' (o.g.)		Abu Taha 20' Al-Haj 68' Kalbouneh 86'	Stadium: Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following 26 players were named in the squad for the 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship. ^[2]
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	Layth Qasim		0	0	Al-Shorta
12	1GK	Wisam Ali		0	0	Naft Al-Wasat
22	1GK	Sajjad Mohammed		0	0	Amanat Baghdad

2	2DF	Mohammed Ghaleb		0	0	Al-Minaa
3	2DF	Mousa Alaa		0	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
14	2DF	Sajjad Fadhil	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 19)	9	0	Al-Zawraa
19	2DF	Sajjad Mahdi	(2003-02-25) 25 February 2003 (age 21)	15	0	Naft Maysan
24	2DF	Ali Kareem		0	0
	2DF	Kadhim Raad Hatem	(2003-03-05) 5 March 2003 (age 21)	16	0	Al-Zawraa
	2DF	Hussein Fahim		0	0	Al-Talaba
	2DF	Muslim Moussa	(2005-03-11) 11 March 2005 (age 19)	10	1	Al-Minaa
	2DF	Adam Rasheed	(2006-07-10) 10 July 2006 (age 17)	13	0	Torino Primavera

7	3MF	Halgurd Jaafar		0	0	Peshmerga Hawler
8	3MF	Amoori Mutshar	(2005-05-01)1 May 2005 (aged 18)	0	0	Al-Kahrabaa
18	3MF	Ali Sadiq	(2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 (age 21)	15	1	Al-Zawraa
21	3MF	Hayder Abdulkareem	(2004-08-07) 7 August 2004 (age 19)	15	3	Al-Zawraa
23	3MF	Moamel Mahmoud		0	0	Naft Al-Wasat
25	3MF	Laith Deaa		0	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
26	3MF	Mustafa Nawaf	(2005-05-05)5 May 2005 (aged 18)	0	0	Al-Amwaj
	3MF	Ali Mokhalad		0	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	3MF	Abbas Majed	(2003-10-29) 29 October 2003 (age 20)	6	0	Al-Talaba

9	4FW	Mustafa Qabeel	(2005-01-08) 8 January 2005 (age 19)	7	0	Erbil
11	4FW	Ali Hayder	(2005-10-01)1 October 2005 (aged 18)	0	0	Stoke City U18
20	4FW	Karrar Jaafar		0	0	Al-Minaa
	4FW	Ahmed Jasim		0	0	Al-Naft
	4FW	Ali Akbar Taher	(2006-12-30) 30 December 2006 (age 17)	1	0	Al-Shorta

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Hussein Hassan	(2002-11-15) 15 November 2002 (age 21)	16	0	Al-Karkh	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
GK	Abbas Kareem	(2003-11-15) 15 November 2003 (age 20)	3	0	Al-Shorta	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
GK	Omran Zaky	(2004-08-02) 2 August 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Zakho	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup

DF	Alai Ghasem	(2003-02-16) 16 February 2003 (age 21)	8	1	AFC Eskilstuna	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
DF	Roman Doulashi	(2005-08-07) 7 August 2005 (age 18)	7	0	Schalke 04 U-19	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
DF	Abbas Manie	(2003-01-11) 11 January 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Amanat Baghdad	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup

MF	Alexander Aoraha	(2003-01-17) 17 January 2003 (age 21)	5	0	Queens Park Rangers U21	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
MF	Abdul-Razzak Qasim	(2003-02-19) 19 February 2003 (age 21)	16	2	Al-Shorta	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup

FW	Abbas Fadhil	(2003-07-13) 13 July 2003 (age 20)	13	1	Naft Maysan	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Abdulqader Ayoub	(2003-07-23) 23 July 2003 (age 20)	12	2	Erbil	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Youssef Amyn	(2003-08-21) 21 August 2003 (age 20)	5	1	Eintracht Braunschweig	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Ashar Ali	(2003-09-24) 24 September 2003 (age 20)	15	3	Al-Karkh	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Ali Jassim	(2004-01-20) 20 January 2004 (age 20)	9	2	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Mohammed Jameel	(2005-11-25) 25 November 2005 (age 18)	16	3	Al-Naft	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FW	Mohammed Emad Mohammed	unknown	1	1	Al-Zawraa	2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
^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[edit]

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[edit]

Head coaches by years (2000–present)

As of 31 March 2024

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	2021–2024	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
Ehsan Turki	2024–	3	0	1	2	000.00

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

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
2025	To be determined
Total	Fourth place	5/24	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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Iraq Stars League[edit]

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[edit]

Titles[edit]

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[edit]

AFC National Team of the Year: 2013

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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

[2] "إعلان قائمة منتخب العراق لبطولة غرب آسيا تحت 23 عاما".

[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