Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sydney: Iraq’s “new generation” will take inspiration from their historic 2007 AFC Asian Cup success according to coach Radhi Shenaishil ahead of Monday’s semi-final re-match with Korea Republic at Stadium Australia.
Iraq famously won a maiden continental title with victory over Saudi Arabia in 2007 having edged out two-time champions Korea on penalties in the semi-finals.
And with Group D runners-up Iraq having edged out Iran on penalties in Friday’s thrilling quarter-final, the pair will meet again with a place in the final against either hosts Australia or the United Arab Emirates at stake.
Video highlights: Iran 3-3 Iraq. aet (6-7 on penalties)
“I wish it will happen again, but we have a lot of respect for Korea. You have to respect your opponent as a coach and as a team to achieve a positive result. We hope this new generation can produce something to remind the Iraqi people of 2007 once again,” said Shenaishil.
“It is a very tough match. The four teams in the semi-finals have been going through a lot of hard times to reach this stage. Our match with Korea will not be easy and we respect them. The only disappointment is the short period of recovery as we only had three days to recover for the match.”
Shenaishil, though, will be forced into at least one change following the success over Iran with midfielder Yaser Kasim, who has been ever-present in all four games in Australia, ruled out due to suspension.
“Yaser is a rising star in Asia and for the Iraq national team. It is disappointing to lose a player like this, but as a coaching staff we always look at losing players due to injury and suspension and we have a player ready who will replace Yaser and he will continue his journey to the final. The new player who will play is someone new and we hope he has ambition,” said Shenaishil.
“Our preparations have been good. The short period of time is a disadvantage, but we have worked to recover the players and we have not put a lot of pressure on the players in training.”
The meeting will see Shenaishil come up against two players who play under the former Iraq international in Qatar with Qatar SC, with both midfielder Han Kook-young and striker Cho Young-cheol included in Korea’s squad.
Han was introduced as a second half substitute as Group A winners Korea edged out Uzbekistan after extra-time in their quarter-final on Thursday, while Cho did not feature in Melbourne having scored against Oman in the group stage.
“Korea are probably one of the best four teams in Asia. We gained a lot of experience playing with strong teams. We had friendlies with Uzbekistan and Iran and a match with Iran during the competition so the players gained a lot of experience playing at this level and we hope to produce something on the day to produce a positive result,” said Shenaishil, who agreed to take on the dual coaching role in December.
“Rankings don’t play a big role now as the four teams are strong and have the goal to be in the final.
“It will be a difficult match. I saw the match between Korea and Uzbekistan and we can see they counterattack, but have three or four payers still defending.”
Photo: WSG