Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Philadelphia, United States The first time Ali Alkabasi saw Iraq play in the World Cup was on TV at the age of 13. Forty years later, he was inside the Philadelphia Stadium when his country returned to the big stage and faced former champions France.
Although his team lost 3-0 in the second Group I match, Alkabasi said he is happy to face Iraq in this match.
“Seeing Iraq play in the World Cup is enough,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The performance was not too bad. The result was expected. France is at another level. The Iraqi players did not only play long balls, but they tried to create possessions.”
The Iraqi fans stood and greeted their team at the final whistle, and despite scoring three goals in the final minutes of the game, they cheered for each attack if they managed to equalize.
‘Matter of pride’
For a country that has faced great challenges in recent decades, Iraq’s participation in the World Cup brought unadulterated joy to fans, who traveled from the US and around the world to see their team in action.
Halah Maykhan, an Iraqi American living in Wisconsin, said Iraq’s return to the World Cup after four decades is a dream come true.
“We are living in a dream. My country, Iraq, is reaching the end of the World Cup in America, where I live. My dream is twofold,” Maykhan told Al Jazeera.
“I am happy and very happy. This is a matter of pride for the Iraqi people.”
He thanked the players for gathering Iraqis from all corners of the world in one place to gather the team.
“We have this team no matter what,” Maykhan told Al Jazeera.
“Even though he has no experience, we hope he will do well, and we hope that all Arab teams will do well.”
France’s two internationals started the game strongly, and superstar Kylian Mbappe silenced the Iraqi crowd in the 14th minute with a screamer from the edge of the box – but not for long.
After the shelling, Iraqi fans returned to cheer on their team as chants of “Iraq, Iraq” rang out throughout the stadium.
This process was repeated twice, and the French intentions only momentarily calmed the roar of the Mesopotamian lions.
Although there was a big gap between the two sides, Iraq did not stop the bus and cleared the ball away from their goal.
They tried to keep it and play it through the high quality French press.
Mohammed Abduljabbar, who lives in Texas, said that although the result was disappointing, the team did what it had to do against a good opponent.
“Their performance was good. Yes, there were mistakes, but there were also beautiful games. We are proud, and we thank them for bringing us to the World Cup,” Abduljabbar told Al Jazeera.
He added that the feeling of seeing Iraq on the pitch was “indescribable”.
Beyond football, Iraq’s World Cup tour revealed national identity across sects and religions.
At the stadium on Monday, there were Kurdish and Assyrian flags flying alongside the national flag, but all the fans stood behind the players.
Husam Nafea, an Iraqi fan who traveled four hours from Virginia to watch the game, said the country is rising above divisions, and is now more united around the team.
“Wherever we go, we as Iraqis are happy and united, and hopefully, we will stay like this,” Nafea, who wore an Iraqi flag, told Al Jazeera outside the stadium.
Over the past few decades, Iraq has endured insurgencies, wars, sieges, civil strife, US-led invasions and the rise of ISIS (ISIS).
The country is currently experiencing stability, but is still at the center of many political anomalies in the region.
Nawres Almamoori traveled all the way from South Australia to Philadelphia to see Iraq in action.
He said the joy associated with participating in the tournament is bringing much-needed relief to the Iraqi people.
“The Iraqis have gone through and are still going through a lot,” Almamoori told Al Jazeera. “They should enjoy this.”
A storm hit Iraq and France on Monday, with torrential rain and thunder halting the game for almost two hours at half-time.
As fans prepared to enter the stadium under water pouring from the sky, Iraqi fan Hassan Raad said he was not concerned about the weather or the result.
“Rain, sun, snow, desert – we have come for our boys,” Raad told Al Jazeera. “The results don’t matter. As fans, our job is to support the team.”
Ateka Saleh, an Iraqi American from Wisconsin, said the same thing.
“No matter what happens today, they have already brought us here, together, to celebrate,” Saleh said of the players before the game.
“So, ‘thank you’ to them. We are very proud of this team.”
