Katanec calls up 24 players for Iraq friendly against UAE

Baghdad: Iraq national team head coach Srecko Katanec has named 24 players for the international friendly against UAE in Dubai on January 12 in preparation for the resumption of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Katanec left out familiar names like defensive duo Saad Natiq and Ali Faez while midfielders Bashar Resan and Humam Tareq will not be available as the match is played outside FIFA’s international match calendar.

Iraq are currently leading Group C of the Asian Qualifiers with 11 points from five matches with ties against Hong Kong, Cambodia and Islamic Republic of Iran remaining.

Iraq squad

Goalkeepers: Jalal Hassan, Mohammed Hameed, Fahad Talib.
Defenders: Alaa Mhawi, Mustafa Mohammed, Maitham Jabbar, Ahmad Ibrahim, Rebin Sulaka, Ali Adnan, Dhurgham Ismail.
Midfielders: Amjad Attwan, Hussein Ali, Mazin Fayyadh, Sherif Abdul Kadhim, Ibrahim Bayesh, Hassan Raed, Faisal Jassim, Safaa Hadi, Qasim Mohammed.
Forwards: Sherko Kareem, Alaa Abdul Zahra, Aymen Hussein, Sajjad Jassim, Mahmoud Khalil.