Iraq travel to Lebanon for three days of friendlies

Iraqis take two out of three friendly matches against their Lebanese hosts in Beirut

Three days of friendlies in the Lebanese capital saw Iraq take two victories in three days against their hosts in Beiruit.

The Iranian, Karim Moghadam, was appointed as the coach of the Iraq national beach soccer team in November 2018. In his first game in charge, Moghadammen’s men miss out by a single goal, when the Lebanese snatched a 5-4 victory. But in both of the following bouts Iraq came out on top.

On day two, another closely-fought game saw the Iraqis score four once more, which was enough to take the victory and boost their confidence ahead of the final match.

The decider was surprisingly one-sided, after some solid performances Lebanon put up little resistance and were defeated by five goals, whilst failing to score themselves. 

Reflecting on his first matches at the helm of the Iraq national team, Karim Moghadam told Beach Soccer Worldwide that he was “glad that [his] players were able to get good results against the powerful Lebanon team.”

These friendly matches offered the perfect opportunity to get in some competitive practise ahead of the Asian qualifier for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay later this year.

The AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 will take place in Pattaya, Thailand, between March 9-17. Only the top three teams, out of the participating 15 from the Asian continent will claim a place in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2019 in Paraguay

Both Lebanon and Iraq will feature, but may not meet in the competition, having been drawn in separate groups. 

Friendly Results:

18 February: Lebanon 5 – 4 Iraq 

19 February: Lebanon 3 – 4 Iraq 

20 February: Lebanon 0 – 5 Iraq