Former Iraqi player Arkan Najib expressed his anger over the result of the Saudi Al-Nassr match against Al-Zawraa, in the sixth and final round of the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2 yesterday, Wednesday.

Najib said: "What is happening in Iraqi football recently is very unfortunate, as we see our clubs collapsing rapidly and losing by very heavy margins in the AFC Champions League Elite as well as AFC Champions League 2. What happened to my teams, Al-Shorta and Al-Zawraa, requires a serious pause and recalculations to identify the points of failure that both teams suffer from."

He added: "Yes, the financial and technical differences may be very large, but it was possible to perform at better levels and avoid heavy losses. For example, in Al-Zawraa's match against Al-Nassr yesterday, neither Gokulam Kerala from India nor Istiklol Dushanbe from Tajikistan conceded 4 goals in one half. Therefore, I do not understand the reason behind the collapse of the Seagulls and their rapid decline in performance."

He explained: "The match between Al-Zawraa and Al-Nassr proved the failure of the technical staff of the Seagulls team in managing the match. Also, the players were not up to the mark. In defense, Akam Hashim was not good, nor was Abdullah Naseeb, even though this duo is considered among the best in the region. Everyone should have performed at their best against Al-Nassr."

He continued: "I did not understand how the match was prepared technically. The lines were not connected, the distances were wide, and the team did not cover as a single unit. They even lacked ball retention after winning possession, so the team could not catch its breath to organize the play. What happened yesterday was due to lack of organization, wrong reading, and absence of coordination within the team."

He concluded: "Certainly, Al-Nassr is a big team with highly skilled players, but even the weakest teams in the Roshn Saudi League managed to stop them, embarrass them, or lose honorably by a goal or two. I believe Al-Zawraa players need to review themselves to be better, especially the Iraqi national team players."