Doha: Iraq caretaker coach Zeljko Petrovic has urged the return of home games in Iraq for the national side as his team prepares for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 Group A opener today.
Petrovic, who took over the affairs of the Lions of Mesopotamia from Dutchman Dick Advocaat after a poor run of results in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers, noted that the team is focused on performing well for the Iraqi people.
Iraq, Asian champions in 2007, have competed at the World Cup finals only once in 1986, losing all three matches.
“We don’t play home matches, and it is important to play home games with 70 to 80,000 people in attendance cheering the team. Our youth team played yesterday in Basra, and 50,000 attended, and this is what we need,” Petrovic said.
“I live in Baghdad, and it’s safe. I ask people to check the possibility of playing in Iraq. It is a huge football country, and people deserve, after what’s happened there, to watch football.”
Meanwhile, Iraq have won the Arab Cup four times, with their last title in 1988.
On facing Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain in Group A, Petrovic said his team needs to focus on the tournament to boost their chances of qualifying from a ‘strong’ group.
“Our group is strong, Oman is very strong, Bahrain is a distinguished team, and they won the last Gulf Cup. We have Qatar, the Asian champions are with the same coach and players for the last few years and are ready to compete in the World Cup. We aspire to achieve good results, and we hope to move forward in the tournament. The first match against Oman will be the key to continuing in the tournament,” he added.
Oman coach Branko Ivankovic on the other hand said his team’s primary goal is to qualify for the final rounds of the tournament. Oman have won three of their last seven matches, lost three, and drawn one.
“We will participate in the tournament with high ambitions, and our first goal is to overcome the first round and qualify for the final rounds, and then compete for the title,” Ivankovic said.
“We are entering this new tournament to make the most of it, but our main goal remains to achieve positive results, and I always talk to the players about this aspect.”
The experienced Ivankovic, who guided Iran to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, said Iraq promises a formidable opponent for his Omani side.
“I have known them (Iraq) for a very long time. They have excellent players and play beautiful football. In general, I think that the confrontation will be strong between the two sides.”
