Iraqi Players: The Result Was Shocking and We Aim to Compensate Against France
The stars of the Iraqi national team agreed that the 1-4 loss to Norway in the opening of the Lions of Mesopotamia's journey in the 2026 World Cup does not reflect the true picture of the match, confirming that individual errors and lack of World Cup experience were the reasons for losing points at 'Gillette' Stadium in Boston in the first round of Group Nine.
Iraq presented an outstanding first half that confused the Vikings' calculations, and Ayman Hussein succeeded in equalizing with a historic header before Haaland and his teammates regained the lead before the end of the first half, then Norway imposed its dominance in the second half to come out with three valuable points.
The captain of the Iraqi attack described the confrontation as 'big' despite the result, saying: 'We must learn from this match and gain experience for the upcoming encounters. Simple details and lack of experience were the main reasons for the loss, and unfortunately, the result does not reflect our performance, especially in the first half.'
Regarding his goal that brought Iraq back to World Cup scoring after 40 years, he explained: 'I am very happy to have scored in the World Cup, and I dedicate the goal to the late legend Ahmed Radhi. My teammates and I will try to give our all in the next two matches, and we apologize to the fans because our ambition was greater than the loss.'
The goalkeeper admitted the shock of the result but emphasized the difficulty of the task: 'We faced a very strong team and the result was unexpected. We must appear better against France and Senegal, as beginnings are always difficult and we are playing in the toughest group of the tournament. We apologize to our fans.'
Jalal added: 'The Iraqi team is not used to losing by this margin, and we will work on correcting the mistakes. Returning to the World Cup after 40 years is an achievement, and unfortunately, we found ourselves in a fiery group after a very tough qualifying journey.'
The team's right-back did not hide his astonishment at the collapse of performance in the second half: 'I don't know what happened to us after the 70th minute, Norway's goals came because of our individual mistakes. We played excellently in the first half but lost the rhythm and stability afterward.'
He concluded by saying: 'All matches are difficult and we are in the strongest group in the world, we have no time to correct things. After this shock, we apologize to the audience, and we will try to make up for what was missed against France and Senegal.'
Iraq presented an outstanding first half that confused the Vikings' calculations, and Ayman Hussein succeeded in equalizing with a historic header before Haaland and his teammates regained the lead before the end of the first half, then Norway imposed its dominance in the second half to come out with three valuable points.
The captain of the Iraqi attack described the confrontation as 'big' despite the result, saying: 'We must learn from this match and gain experience for the upcoming encounters. Simple details and lack of experience were the main reasons for the loss, and unfortunately, the result does not reflect our performance, especially in the first half.'
Regarding his goal that brought Iraq back to World Cup scoring after 40 years, he explained: 'I am very happy to have scored in the World Cup, and I dedicate the goal to the late legend Ahmed Radhi. My teammates and I will try to give our all in the next two matches, and we apologize to the fans because our ambition was greater than the loss.'
The goalkeeper admitted the shock of the result but emphasized the difficulty of the task: 'We faced a very strong team and the result was unexpected. We must appear better against France and Senegal, as beginnings are always difficult and we are playing in the toughest group of the tournament. We apologize to our fans.'
Jalal added: 'The Iraqi team is not used to losing by this margin, and we will work on correcting the mistakes. Returning to the World Cup after 40 years is an achievement, and unfortunately, we found ourselves in a fiery group after a very tough qualifying journey.'
The team's right-back did not hide his astonishment at the collapse of performance in the second half: 'I don't know what happened to us after the 70th minute, Norway's goals came because of our individual mistakes. We played excellently in the first half but lost the rhythm and stability afterward.'
He concluded by saying: 'All matches are difficult and we are in the strongest group in the world, we have no time to correct things. After this shock, we apologize to the audience, and we will try to make up for what was missed against France and Senegal.'
News Related
Was Norway's Third Goal Against Iraq a Mistake?
The third goal by the Norwegian team against Iraq sparked widespread controversy.
Graham Arnold Comments After Defeat to Norway
Australian Graham Arnold, coach of the Iraqi national team, commented on the heavy loss
Three Reasons Prevented Iraq from Withstanding Norway in the World Cup
Despite the brave performance by the Lions of Mesopotamia in their first half
Haaland Achieves Historic Feat with Norway
The Norwegian star Erling Haaland achieved a historic feat after scoring two goals
Norway Defeats Iraq with a Four-Goal Victory in the World Cup
The Norwegian national team achieved its first victory in the 2026 World Cup tournament.
FIFA Rejects Iraqi National Team's Request
FIFA apologizes to Iraq for raising the flag due to ground damage.
Iraq's Expected Lineup Against Norway
The Iraqi national team is preparing to play its first match in the 2026 World Cup.
Revealing the Referee for the Iraq vs Norway Match
FIFA has assigned the task of managing the opening match
Learn About Iraq's Key Matches Against European Teams
Before facing Norway in the opening of its participation in the 2026 World Cup,
Iraqi Players: We Seek Victory and Do Not Think of Any Pressure
The Lions of Mesopotamia stand on the brink of a historic moment. The Iraqi national team is preparing