I don't see him in the preliminary squad that Iraqilambo posted though. Also who is Ali Akla? Never heard of him.
Ayman is recalled by the coach. He is recovering from his injury Ali Akla is a player from DVS '33, an amateurteam in Holland..
I wonder if anyone in the FA has actually watched Ali Akla play, or if they are calling him up simply because he plays in Holland.
I don't understand why Rebin Asaad wasn't picked. A talented attacking midfielder. We have tons of wingers in this squad already.. Anyway, 18 players will be picked. 2 of them will be GK's so 16 field players. Hopefully good choices will be made.
God knows how he became a football player.. That shows the weakness of Shahad. Holding on to useless players like Hameed and Nadhim.
Saad Abdul Amir will be the Captain for the olympic team. Good choice IMO, but I'd rather have Ali Adnan with the armband since I think Ali is the best choice for captaincy with the national team after Younis.
Saad Abdul-Amir as captain is a good choice. Nothing to complain about. I wonder who will be dropped and taken to Rio. Only 18 players (2 of them GK's) can be picked.
I didn't know this but: Iraq has qualified one judoka for the men's half-middleweight category (81 kg) at the Games. Hussein Al-Aameri earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region as the highest-ranked Iraqi judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016. Iraq has qualified one boat in the men's single sculls for the Olympics at the 2016 Asia & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea. Mohammed Jasim Al-Khafaji is going to participate in it Iraq has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a women's 10 m air rifle shooter to the Olympics. Zainab Jumaah is going to participate. Iraq has qualified one male weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top seven national finish at the 2016 Asian Championships.[3] The team must allocate this place by June 20, 2016.
This is the Olympic Team's schedule before they head to Brazil: June 18 - vs Santa Coloma (semi pro spanish club) in Barcelona June 26 - vs Zenit st. Petersburg in Austria July 2nd - vs Kalmar FF in Sweden July 13 - vs Algeria U23 in Algers July 17 - vs Algeria U23 in Algers Some very strong friendlies for the team and should really prepare the team for the Olympics.
Soccer clubs are under no obligation to allow their players to play in the Rio Olympic men’s tournament, FIFA said Friday. “The event is not part of the international match calendar,” FIFA said in a press release. “However, FIFA is asking for support from the clubs to allow players who are called up by their national teams to be given the chance to be part of the Olympic experience.” http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2015/...s-clubs-soccer-rio-2016-qatar-2022-world-cup/
Selfish move? It's selfish to bring another LB when we have Ali Adnan for the Olympics and no proper LB for the senior team. I don't know what'll happen to Husni. Hopefully he will be released..
Ali Adnan is a left winger for Iraq. He's wasted as a full back with the national team. It's not unusual for players to play different positions between national team/club teams. Ali Husni is going to the Olympics for sure.
I had no idea this was the case. Hopefully Rize reconsider. Humam is reportedly heading to Bursaspor. Hopefully it doesn't stop him from going to rio. He may not be our best player, but he plays with heart every game and he can be very important for us.
Representing your country at the Olympics is something people dream of and very few people are lucky enough to get that chance. Rizespor are denying Dhurgham that opportunity meaning he may never get a chance to represent Iraq at the Olympics again, when Dhurgham isn't even a guaranteed starter at their club. I can understand why they did it obviously but it's pretty selfish to deny a young player such an opportunity. And what's selfish about calling up two LBs? Nothing wrong with calling up the best team possible. We may not qualify for an Olympics for a long time after this, let's make the most of it and call up the strongest players. The senior team should be fine for the WCQs, the Olympics will be a great experience for them as well.
Preparations for the WCQ's (which are far more important) are going on at the same time. The coach should take that into account when selecting the players. I would rather see new faces at the Olympics. Don't get me wrong, I think it's an important tournament but the World Cup is our number 1 goal and I don't want to waste another campaign.
I understand your point but I'm pretty sure it will be fine. Lots of the Olympics players will be in the senior team so they will be well prepared playing with each other and it will keep them fit as well - a player like Dhurgham will be fit anyway seeing as he plays at a European club where fitness will be no doubt considered very important, not to mention that Dhurgham already has a lot of experience with Iraq so missing one training camp shouldn't make too much difference especially if he is staying fit by playing at the Olympics with fellow senior team players. I would like us to call the strongest squad possible for the Olympics and the experience will help some of the younger players in WCQ as well should they be picked.
Remember 2004? We did well in the Olympics but messed up our World Cup campaign. The Olympic tournament is a prestigious tournament with history, but at the same time it's about preparing a new generation for the future.