Iraq team brings 'Asian Gareth Bale' to compete with Vietnam

The Iraqi team came to Vietnam with 24 players. Notable among them was defender Ali Adnan. He had faced the Vietnamese team at the 2019 Asian Cup. Ali Adnan sealed a 3-2 victory for the West Asian team with a classy free kick in the last minute of regulation time.

Ali Adnan's full name is Ali Adnan Kadhim Al-Tameemi, born on December 19, 1993, in Baghdad. He rose to prominence in the Badhdad FC shirt. His forte is left-back and he has lightning-fast runs on the wing. In addition, Adnan also has the ability to cross the ball with high accuracy.

Ali Adnan faces the Vietnamese team at the 2019 Asian Cup. (Photo: Getty)

In 2013, Ali Adnan played for Iraq U20 in the U20 World Cup. His mark was a sprint down the left flank, completely eliminating the England defense before scoring. This goal was similar to Gareth Bale's goal against Inter Milan in the 2009/2010 Champions League. Therefore, Ali Adnan was dubbed "the Gareth Bale of Asia".

Ali Adnan then moved to Europe to play football. The two most famous teams that this star played for were Udinese and Atalanta of Serie A. Ali Adnan became the first Iraqi player to play football in Italy.

However, Adnan did not leave much of an impression in the boot-shaped country. After that, he played in the US, Denmark and Russia. Currently, Adnan is playing for Mes Rafsanjan of the Iranian national championship.

Compared to the time he faced the Vietnamese team 4 years ago, Ali Adnan's performance has declined quite a bit. He suffered a torn ligament injury at the end of 2021 and took 1 year to recover.

However, he only returned to the national team when coach Jesus Casas took charge. The Spaniard often used Adnan as a left-sided centre-back instead of his preferred left-back position. This position was given to Merchas Doski, who plays in the Czech Republic for Slovacko.

Besides Ali Adan, the Iraqi team also has a player familiar to Vietnamese audiences, striker Mohanad Ali. He also scored in the match against the Vietnamese team at the 2019 Asian Cup. However, currently, the striker wearing the number 10 shirt has lost his official position to Aymen Hussein.

The Iraqi team's roster also includes 10 players playing in Europe. They do not play for famous teams, but still show that the level of Iraqi players is much higher than that of the Vietnamese team.

After the first round of matches, Iraq and Vietnam have the same 3 points, but the West Asian team is ranked higher thanks to a better goal difference.

VTC News will report live the Vietnam vs Iraq match from 7pm on November 21.

Iraq team list
Goalkeepers: Ahmed Basil (Al Shorta), Fahad Talib (Naft Abadan), Jalal Hassan (Al Zawraa).
Defenders: Mustafa Saadoon (Al Jawiya), Frans Putros (Port), Ali Adnan (Mes Rafsanjan), Rebin Sulaka (Brommapojkarna), Ahmed Yahia (Al Shorta), Merchas Doski (Slovacko), Hussein Ali (Heerenveen).
Midfielders: Bashar Rasan (Qatar SC), Ali Jassim (Al Jawiya), Osama Rashid (Vizela), Amir Amari (Halmstads), Youssef Amyn (Braunschweig), Hassan Kareem (Al Zawraa), Danilo Al Saed (Sandefjord), Ibrahim Bayesh (Al Jawiya), Ahmad Allee (Rouen).
Forwards: Pashang Abdulla (Degerfors IF), Aymen Hussein (Al Jawiya), Mohanad Ali (Al Shorta), Ali Hamadi (Wimbledon), Hussein Al-Saedi (Al Shorta)

Hoai Duong

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