The national team tied in the first game for the Dutch coach

Marvik engages 4 attackers in friendly Iraq without effect

Lima did not threaten much of Iraq’s goal yesterday.

Photography: Osama Abu Ghanem

The national team was content with a draw without goals against its Iraqi counterpart, during the confrontation that brought them together yesterday, at Zabeel Stadium in Al Wasl Club in Dubai, in an international friendly match, as part of the teams' preparations for the joint qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup, which will start next March. The Whites play in Group G, along with Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

And in the first experience of the national coach, the Dutch Marvik, since his second return, many appeared

One of the technical gaps among the white ranks, especially in terms of good organization and collective performance.

The coach engaged four attackers, Ali Mabkhout, Caio, Fabio Lima and Khalafan Mubarak, without effectiveness.

And Al-Abyad appeared in an unconvincing performance, especially in the first half, while the performance improved relatively in the second half after the changes.

The first half ended with a goalless draw, in which the danger of the national attackers was absent, and Iraq’s goal was not threatened with any dangerous balls, despite the presence of the trio in the front line, and the strength of the names in the attack.

For most of the first half, the national team seemed lost, and its moves lacked the offensive effectiveness, the collective performance and the coherence required, especially at the midfield and offensive levels, while the defense and behind him the goalkeeper Ali Khasif carried the Iraqi moves.

The Iraqi national team, in turn, sought to impose its style on the field, but its attempts were unsuccessful, due to the coherence of the national defense line.

Al-Abyad played with a lineup that included: Ali Khasif in the goal, and in defense Shaheen Abdel Rahman, Walid Abbas, Bandar Al-Ahbabi and Mahmoud Khamis, and in the middle Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan and Khalfan Mubarak, and in the parties Fabio Lima and Caillou, and in the front, Ali Mabkhout, an outspoken attacker.

Al-Abyadh tried at the beginning of the second half to change the image, and sought to initiate the attack and work to organize its ranks well.

Mabkhout missed the most dangerous opportunity since the start of the match in the "50th" minute, when he hit a header that went past the goal.

In the second half, the national team appeared better, and threatened the Iraqi goal with more than one shot, but it did not succeed because of the rush.

And Marvik made changes, after he pushed the trio Khalil Ibrahim, Ali Saleh and Tahnoon Al Zaabi, in place of Lima and Khalaf Mubarak and Kayo.

Khalil Ibrahim missed a golden opportunity, facing the goalkeeper "83".

The rest of the minutes did not result in any change in the result.

The match showed technical gaps among the Whites, especially at the level of homogeneity between the players.

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