Bassem Qassem: We haven't achieved anything yet, the best is yet to come

Al-Zawraa's coach Basim Qasim and player Youssef Aziz held a press conference following the team's victory over Al-Gharafa, which ended with the Al-Nawras winning 2-0 and temporarily topping the table with 18 points. The duo spoke about the importance of the victory and the team's ambitions in the upcoming phase.

Al-Zawraa's coach Basim Qasim said in his statements after the match: "I congratulate the players and the fans on this important win. We achieved three valuable points against a respectable and organized team like Al-Gharafa, but the most important thing is consistency."

Qasim added: "The factor of home ground and the fans was decisive today, the Al-Zawraa fans were the 12th player, they pushed us to score early, and I thank them for their great attendance, and I promise them that the team will fight until the last breath to make them happy."

Speaking about his reading of the match, he said: "We studied Al-Gharafa well; they missed chances and had a goal disallowed for offside, but we managed to restore balance and scored the second goal at a very important time. In the second half, I asked the players to calm the tempo and control the midfield, and that’s what happened."

He concluded his remarks with a warning message: "We are now at the top and we aim to stay at the peak, but we haven't achieved anything yet. The league is still long and difficult, and we have tougher matches ahead. We must forget this match and think about what’s next, and the euphoria of winning against Al Quwa Al Jawiya should turn into greater focus."

For his part, Al-Zawraa player Youssef Aziz, who had a great match, said: "Thank God for this important victory. We knew that the match against Al-Gharafa would not be easy, but we entered with high concentration and applied all of coach Bassim Qasim's instructions to the letter."

Aziz added: "The coach read the match correctly, he asked us to press at the beginning and take advantage of set pieces, and we succeeded in that. In the second half, the tempo dropped a little but we maintained our lead and the play was concentrated in midfield with an advantage for us."

Regarding the team's ambitions, he said: "This is the third consecutive victory after winning against Al Quwa Al Jawiya. We are experiencing a high morale, and with this win, we have raised our tally to 18 points. Our goal this season is clear: to compete for the Iraqi Premier League title and to make our loyal fans, who deserve a lot, happy."