Arab newspaper: 'Iraq has three reasons to beat Vietnam'

The match between Vietnam and China in the final round of Group D of the Asian Cup is just a formality, but sports site Arab Winwin believes that Iraq has three goals to strive for.

Iraq has secured the top spot in Group D to advance to the 2023 Asian Cup Round of 16, while Vietnam is at the bottom and has been eliminated. The two teams met in the final round at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium today, which has little significance for the tournament. However, WinWin believes that Iraq must still aim for victory because of three factors: FIFA points, absolute achievements and protecting tradition.

Striker Mohanad Ali celebrates the only goal that helped Iraq beat Vietnam 1-0 at My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi on the evening of November 21, 2023, in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Pham Duong — Striker Mohanad Ali celebrates the only goal that helped Iraq beat Vietnam 1-0 at My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi on the evening of November 21, 2023, in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Photo: *Pham Duong*

Iraq will receive an additional 11.32 FIFA points if they beat Vietnam, climbing three places to 58th in the world, surpassing Finland, Burkina Faso and Ireland. If they draw, Jesus Casas' team will lose 6.18 FIFA points, although they will still maintain their current 61st position. If they lose, Iraq will be deducted 23.68 points, dropping one FIFA rank.

The FIFA rankings are important, as a high position will help teams be better seeded for draws such as the Asian Cup or the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Iraq are likely to enter the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and they need a high position in the seeding pot to avoid strong opponents. The Asian Cup is currently the highest-ranked tournament in which Iraq can improve their FIFA ranking, and they will use the match against Vietnam to improve their position.

Similar to Iraq, Vietnam also needs to avoid losing to Iraq if it does not want to fall out of the FIFA Top 100. When Park Hang-seo held his first press conference as head coach of the national team, Vietnam was ranked 130th. He said he would take the team into the Top 100. The Korean coach achieved that goal in just 13 months, and the team has been in the Top 100 ever since.

The Arab newspaper also said that Casas and his team wanted to win all the points in the group stage. They defeated Indonesia 3-1 in the opening match, then surprisingly won the championship candidate Japan 2-1 in the next match. Iraq had never won the maximum nine points in the group stage, and they of course wanted to make history in Qatar.

"Coach Casas will keep some key players on the bench and use some new players in the match against Vietnam," the newspaper wrote. "But he will still inspire his players to try their best and win three points in the next match. An absolute achievement will also help Iraq be more confident before the knockout round."

Iraq have met Vietnam five times before, winning four and drawing one. They will not want to lose their first match against Vietnam. "Coach Casas will not want to create 'history' in that way," the newspaper added.

At yesterday's press conference, Coach Casas also affirmed that he will be very serious in the final match with Vietnam. "We have won a ticket to the round of 16 one match early, but we are determined to keep improving and show our best performance to win. For us, every match is important. We do not consider the meeting with Vietnam as a formality. I have told my players that Iraq must win this match," said the Spanish coach.

Hoang An

Source link