Iraq may be strong contenders in the 2015 AFC Asia Cup in Australia

On Tuesday January 20, Iraq defeated Palestine (2-0) to gain second spot in Group D of the AFC Asia Cup in Australia. This means Iraq meets Iran in the quarter-final on Friday January 23 at Canberra Stadium. A win by Iraq would make them strong contenders to take the winning spot in the whole Asia Cup competition.

The other quarter-final matches will be Korea v Uzbekistan tonight, January 22, in Melbourne; China v Australia tonight, January 22, in Brisbane; and Japan v United Arab Emirates on Friday January 23 in Sydney.

I first encountered the Iraq team – the Lions of Mesopotamia – in Baghdad in 2004. Iraq entered the 2007 Asia Cup as the Group E winner and went on to win the Asia Cup by defeating Saudi Arabia (1-0). So Iraq will be hoping to emulate their 2007 win. But first they must defeat Iran on Friday to get to the semi-finals.

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