Ibrahim Bayesh: We Must Forget the Loss and Focus on the France Match

Ibrahim Bayesh, the Iraqi national team winger, revealed the content of the first speech given by Australian coach Graham Arnold to the players in the locker room after the 1-4 defeat to Norway in the opening match of the Lions of Mesopotamia in the 2026 World Cup. He confirmed that the coach asked them to quickly turn the page on the match and prepare for the encounter with France.

Bayesh said in his statements after the match: 'We delivered an excellent first half, but some minor mistakes cost us dearly. Coach Graham Arnold immediately asked us to close the Norway file and fully focus on the France match. We hope to deliver a performance worthy of Iraq's name and please the fans who attended and supported us until the end.'

The player added that today's result will not shake the team's confidence: 'We lost, but we played a respectable match until about the 65th minute, and this is one of the best matches for Iraq in recent years. We still have a chance to snatch third place in the group; this is a reality on paper, but we must prove it practically with a strong performance against the Roosters.'

Bayesh admitted the players' shortcomings and apologized to the fans: 'We were the ones who made mistakes and gave Norway the opportunity to advance and then widen the gap. We must forget what happened and open the France file directly, as the confrontation will be tougher and stronger, but we are ready to give our utmost.'

He pointed to the remaining preparation period before the match: 'We have 6 days to review ourselves and show a strong reaction in training. The coach will hold a technical session to analyze the mistakes we made, but he will also talk about the positive points and the level of the first half, which we hope to translate into goals and results in the next match.'

After Norway's four-goal win, Iraq is at the bottom of Group Nine without points. Norway leads on goal difference over France, which defeated Senegal 3-1 in a match where Kylian Mbappe shone, while Senegal came third.