Iraq Starting XI: Mohammed Hamed; Walid Salim, Frans Putros (Ali Adnan 46), Ali Faiz, Saad Natiq, Osama Rashid (Amjad Atwan 46), Safaa H, Mahdi K (Bashar Resan13 46), 11 Humam (16 Hussein Ali 80), Ali Husni (Mohammed Dawud 61); Mohanad Abdelraheem (Mohanad Ali 46)
Recap: Palestine failed to beat Iraq for the 15th time in an international friendly this evening with Al-Fida’i suffering defeat courtesy of Humam Tariq’s early second half goal. A mixup between backup goalkeeper Toufic Ali and Mohammed Saleh allowed Humam Tariq a chance to poach the opener and eventual winning goal.
The first half of the match ended scoreless despite it being a rather lively affair. Tamer Seyam was sent through on goal by a Mahmoud Wadi through pass but could not find a way past Iraqi shot stopper Mohammed Hamed.
Palestine’s best chance for an equalizer came through a pair of substitutes. Jonathan Cantillana latched on to a cross from Musab Al-Battat but crashed his effort onto the right post of the Iraqi goal.
Bahdari Landmark: This game saw Palestine’s captain join an exclusive club. He became only the third player to reach 60 international caps whilst also equalling Saeb Jendeya’s record for most starts (58) by an outfield player. He could conceivably become Palestine’s most capped outfield player during the 2019 Asian Cup finals he’ll need to play five more games to overtake Khader Yousef (64 caps).
What’s Next: Palestine’s final friendly will take on Kyrgyzstan on New Year’s Eve in their final friendly match before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.
