Probably sometime in april as there is a playoff match for the last spot between march 25 and 29th usa vs Colombia, 2 legs
First step is to focus on the weaknesses in this team, and eliminate all possible sources. We need to organize strong friendlies and call up the expatriate players who missed this tournament. Rebin Asaad and Sherko are definitely players I would like to see in Rio. Our defence is our weakest point, and we should call up Ahmad Ibrahim for one, drop Mustafa Nadhim and Saad Natiq, drop Hamza Adnan, call up Ali Adnan and Dhurgham. If we can fix our defence, I'm sure we can make an impact in Brazil.
Each nation must submit a squad of 18 players, 15 of whom must be born on or after 1 January 1993, and three of whom can be older dispensation players. A minimum of two goalkeepers (plus one optional dispensation goalkeeper) must be included in the squad. My (provisional) squad: Fahad Talib Ali Yasin Ali Faez Ahmad Ibrahim Alaa Mhawi Ali Adnan Safa Jabbar Hawbir Mustafa Ali Husni Bashar Rasan Yaser Kasim Amjad Attwan Humam Tariq Rebin Asaad Ahmed Yasin Ayman Hussein Sherko Karim Abdul-Qadir Tariq
I think we'll be fine with Tariq, Sherko and Ayman. Besides, Mohanad served our U23 team since 2011. It's enough. Give other players the chance.
For the last choice I would go with either Saad Abdul-Amir, Osama Rashid, Ahmed Yasin, or Justin Meram. I prefer Saad Abdul-Amir or Osama Rashid as they will pair up well with Yaser Kasim, and we already have good wingers.
Gonzalo Rodriguez (fitness coach) formally signed a contract from June till August 2016 for the Olympic games in Rio.
Source? We need to stabilize our shaky defence and maybe include a (holding) midfielder in the Olympic team. Ahmad Ibrahim and Yaser Kasim should definitely go to Rio. The last player should be Saad Abdul-Amir, Ahmed Yasin, Osama Rashid or maybe even Ali Rehema / Salam Shaker. We don't need to include the likes of Younis or Noor. We already have good goalkeepers and attackers in this age group.
The fans who are against Younis love to ignore the fact that he is a huge leader and motivator for the other players. Alot of the players in the olympic team grew up having Younis Mahmoud as their football idol. The opportunity to play alongside him gives a big morale boost to the players. In addition to that, he can be a good goalscoring option, though I would prefer if the actual U-23 strikers get the chance to start since it was through their hard work that we got to qualify for the olympics in the first place. Personally, I have a hard time deciding whether Younis or Osama Rashid should be called up. Either of them would be a big boost to the team.
I would've liked to see Younis go. I am not convinced with our U23 strikers. Younis would have been a great leader in the team and players would have looked up to him. He would've been able to bully U23 defenders like he did at the Asian Games. He's also got experience playing in the Olympic Games before. Anyway, they need to make the right choice now for the 3rd option.