Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Mohannad Abdul-Raheem had already made his mark on Asian football before arriving in Oman for the Finals of the inaugural AFC U23 Championship in January 2014.
But by the time the young Iraqi had left the Gulf state with a winner’s medal around his neck and the newly minted trophy under his arm, the 20-year-old had confirmed himself as one of the continent’s outstanding talents.
Less than two years before, the striker had claimed the Most Valuable Player title at the AFC U-19 Championship in 2012 as Iraq qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the fourth time, and he was instrumental again as he led his nation to victory over Saudi Arabia in the final.
The former AFC Young Player of the Year put all his attributes on display to score the only goal of the final, using his power and pace to outstrip the Saudi defence before applying a deft finish at the end of run to slip the ball over the line.
It was a fitting end to a commanding series of performances for the Iraqis, who went into the tournament amongst the favourites, having finished as runners-up the AFC U-19 Championship in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 before reaching the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup the following year.
Coach Hakeem Shaker turned up in Oman with a squad that featured 11 of the players that had taken the country to the final of the AFC U19 Championship and 12 from the squad that saw off the likes of Egypt, Chile and Paraguay at the meeting of the world’s best.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/mohannad_abdul-raheem_iraq2.html
