Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Iraqi national team suffered a worrisome 0-2 defeat against their counterpart Venezuela early on Wednesday in their final friendly match in preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
In the match held in the American state of Chicago, the Iraqi national team appeared unconvincing, ending the preparations for the World Cup with a defeat, which caused some concerns before the start of the official competition.
Venezuela opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Cristian Cáceras, before Jesus Ramirez doubled the lead early in the second half, specifically in the 46th minute.
During the match, the suffering of the Iraqi team increased after its striker Ali Youssef was sent off with a red card in the 72nd minute, and “Lions of Mesopotamia” filled the rest of the minutes with ten players.
The Iraqi national team is preparing to play in the ninth group of the World Cup, which includes France, Norway and Senegal.
Iraq begin their tournament campaign against Norway on June 17, before facing France on June 23, before finishing their group stage matches against Senegal on the 26th of the same month.
