The Iraq national under-23 football team represents Iraq in international under-23 football. Iraq's major honors include winning the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship and the 2023 WAFF U-23 Championship. Other notable achievements include reaching fourth place in the 2004 Olympic Games, being silver medalists in the 2006 Asian Games and the 2025 AGCFF U-23 Gulf Cup, and bronze medalists in both the 2016 and 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup and the 2014 Asian Games.
Honours Continental AFC U-23 Asian Cup Champions (1): 2013 Third place (2): 2016, 2024
Regional WAFF U-23 Championship Champions (1): 2023 Asian Games Silver medalists (1): 2006 Bronze medalists (1): 2014 GFF U-23 Gulf Cup Silver medalists (1): 2025
History
Summer Olympics 2004 Athens Olympics
After 16 years without participation, Iraq qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics after winning the 2004 Olympic Asian Qualifiers under head coach Adnan Hamad and were scheduled to play against Costa Rica, Morocco and Portugal in the group stages. At the Olympics Iraq started with a shocking 4–2 win against Portugal. That was followed by a 2–0 win against Costa Rica and a 2–1 loss to Morocco. The quarter-finals saw them beat Australia 1–0, and in the semi-final against Paraguay, Iraq lost 3–1. In the bronze medal match, Iraq lost 1–0 to Italy and finished fourth.
2016 Rio Olympics
Iraq qualified for the 2016 Olympics by clinching third place at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. The first game saw Iraq play against Denmark, and the score turned out as a 0–0 draw, despite Iraq having 18 shots in the match. The second game was played against the hosts and pre-tournament favourites, Brazil, which also ended up as a 0–0 draw, which was hailed as a great result for Iraq. In the third game, Iraq tied South Africa 1–1, despite having a huge 29 shots in the match. This result, coupled with Denmark's defeat to Brazil, saw Iraq get eliminated at the group stage. Brazil eventually went on to win the tournament.
AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2013 AFC U-22 Championship Iraq's first major honour on U-23 level was the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship. The tournament started with a 3–1 win against Saudi Arabia. That was followed by a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan and a 1–0 win against China. The quarter-finals saw them beat Japan 1–0, and the semi-final against favourites Korea Republic with another 1–0 win.
The final was against local rivals Saudi Arabia, and Mohannad Abdul-Raheem scored the only goal to win the tournament for Iraq. This victory secured Iraq's first Asian Cup U-23 title. Amjad Kalaf was named the most valuable player of the tournament.
2016 AFC U-23 Championship The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship final tournament is to be held in Qatar from 12–30 January 2016. Iraq qualified for the tournament by topping the group in the qualification stage in Oman in March 2015.
Iraq advanced from the group stage, beating Yemen 2–0, Uzbekistan 3–2, and a 1–1 tie with South Korea. In the quarterfinals, Iraq beat UAE 3–1 in extra time to progress to the semifinals. Iraq lost 2–1 to Japan.
In the third place match, Iraq came back from behind to beat Qatar 2–1 to qualify for 2016 Olympics.
2018 AFC U-23 Championship
Iraq qualified for the 3rd tournament by topping the group in the qualification stage in Saudi Arabia in July 2017.
In the final tournament, with the defending champion Japan not bringing their strongest squad and South Korea fielded a relatively inexperienced squad, Iraq had many chances to repeat 2013 success. In the group stage, they finished at the top of the group after beating Malaysia 4–1 and Jordan 1–0, with a 0–0 draw against Saudi Arabia. Iraq advanced into the quarter-final as the first seed of group C and was scheduled to face off against Vietnam, which was widely regarded to be Iraq's easiest ever opponent in this stage, boosting the enthusiasm among Iraqis. However, thing didn't go as planned, which an unexpected 3–3 draw after extra time meant that the result would be settled via a penalty shoot-out, in which Vietnam emerged victorious with the score of 5–3, thus eliminating Iraq from the tournament in the shock of its supporters.
2020 AFC U-23 Championship
Iraq qualified for the tournament by topping the group in the qualification stage in Iran in March 2019.
In the final tournament held in Thailand, Iraq was grouped in group A together with host Thailand, a resurgence Australia and the unknown Bahrain. For the first time, Iraq did not make it out of the group stage, drawing all three games.
2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Iraq were drawn with Jordan, Australia and Kuwait.
Iraq pulled back the equaliser through Wakaa Ramadan to draw with Jordan 1-1 in the opening matchday, before drawing again to a 10-man Australia side through a Hasan Abdulkareem volley cancelling out a scorpion kick goal scored by Alou Kuol. Needing a win to qualify for the quarter-finals, Iraq came back from a goal down to beat Kuwait 3-1 thanks to goals scored by Muntadher Mohammed, Moammel Abdulridha and Mohammed Al-Baqer.
Iraq qualified out of Group B as runner-up, only behind Australia, so they were drawn against the winner of Group A, hosts Uzbekistan. The game went to extra time and later, penalties. Merchas Doski and Ahmed Naeem converted their penalties while Uzbekistan's second penalty was saved by Hassan Ahmed. However, Wakaa Rammdan hit the post, Moammel Abdulridha had his tame penalty saved and Hasan Abdulkareem blazed his penalty over the bar, while Uzbekistan converted their last three penalties to win 3-2 on penalties and advance to the semi-finals.
2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Iraq were drawn into a group alongside Thailand, Tajikistan, and Saudi Arabia.
In the first match, Thailand emerged victorious with a stunning 2-0 win over Iraq. Iraq defeated Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia, securing their place as group winners. Iraq faced Vietnam in the quarterfinals, and in a fiercely contested match, booking their ticket to the semifinals. However, Iraq succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Japan in the semifinals.
In the playoff for third place, Iraq faced Indonesia in a showdown for bronze. Iraq emerged victorious, securing a 2-1 win and clinched third place in the tournament. This also earned them a spot in the 2024 Olympics. On the individual front, Ali Jasim finished as the top scorer of the tournament with four goals and two assists.
Recent results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Legend
2025
2026
Coaching staff PositionName Head coach Emad Mohammed Assistant coach Haidar Abdul-Amir Goalkeeping coach Nouri Abd Zaid Fitness coach Vacant Match analyst Montazer Mujbil Physiotherapist Brahim Boubaker Marouan Slim Chief medical officer Mokhtar Chaabane Team doctor Mourad Mokrani Team manager Mustafa Jalal Media coordinator Salam Al-Manaseer Security coordinator Samed Abu Jaber Kitman Abdallah Al-Mahmoudi
Players Current squad The following 26 players have been called up for the friendly matches against Serbia on 25 and 28 September. Caps and goals correct as of 9 September 2025 after game against Cambodia
The following friendlies are excluded for now: Both Bahrain games, both India, both Tunisia games, whole 2025 AGCFF U-23 Gulf Cup (will be included asap) and both Russia friendlies
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up within 12 months
PRE Part of the preliminary squad INJ Player injured CLB Player refused by club or unable to attend due to club commitments IRQ Player moved up to the first team OVR Player overaged and ineligible to represent this age group WD Player withdrew for non-injury related reasons
Previous squads Bold indicates winning squads
Olympic Games 2004 Summer Olympics Squad 2016 Summer Olympics Squad 2024 Summer Olympics Squad
AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2013 AFC U-22 Championship Squad 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Squad 2018 AFC U-23 Championship Squad 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Squad 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Squad 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Squad
Asian Games 2006 Asian Games Squad 2014 Asian Games Squad
WAFF U-23 Championship 2021 WAFF U-23 Championship Squad 2023 WAFF U-23 Championship Squad 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship Squad
Overage players Football at the Summer Olympics, the Asian Games and the Islamic Solidarity Games have required that under-23 players enter the competitions, but they have allowed three overage players to be included in one squad. These three players are called the "wild cards".
Summer Olympics TournamentPlayer 1Player 2Player 3 Haidar Abdul-Jabar (DF) Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail (MF) Razzaq Farhan (FW) Ahmed Ibrahim (DF) Saad Abdul-Amir (MF) Hammadi Ahmed (FW) Saad Natiq (DF) Ibrahim Bayesh (MF) Aymen Hussein (FW)
Asian Games Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Salam Shaker (DF) Mahdi Karim (MF) Younis Mahmoud (FW)
Islamic Solidarity Games Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Hussein Abdul-Wahid (MF) Luay Salah (FW) Marwan Abbas Fadhel (FW)
Manager history
No.ManagerYearCompetition(s)1 William Asprey 1989–1990Stafford Challenge Cup champion2 Anwar Jassam 1995–1996 3 Nazar Ashraf 1999— Najeh Humoud 2001—4 Bernd Stange 2002–20035 Adnan Hamad 2003–20042004 Summer Olympics fourth place2003 Abha Championship champion6 Yahya Alwan 2006–20072006 Asian Games silver medal— Nadhim Shaker 2011—7 Radhi Shenaishil 2011–20128 Hakeem Shaker 2012— Hadi Mutanash 20132013 Islamic Solidarity Games group stage9 Hakeem Shaker 20142013 AFC U-22 Championship champion2014 Asian Games bronze medal10 Yahya Alwan 201511 Abdul-Ghani Shahad 2015–20202016 AFC U-23 Championship third place2016 Summer Olympics group stage2018 AFC U-23 Championship quarter-finals2020 AFC U-23 Championship group stage12 Miroslav Soukup 2021–20222021 WAFF U-23 Championship semi-finals2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals13 Radhi Shenaishil 2022–20242023 WAFF U-23 Championship champion2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup third place2024 Summer Olympics group stage— Ehsan Turki 20242024 WAFF U-23 Championship sixth place14 Emad Mohammed 2025–Total—
Competitive record Overview Event 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th placeSummer Olympics 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0Total1021
Summer Olympics
Summer Olympics recordQualification recordYearResultPosition Squad1900–1988See Iraq national football teamSee Iraq national football team 1992 Did not enter Did not enter 1996 Did not qualify9432148 2000 4121710 2004 Fourth place4th630398Squad105141712 2008 Did not qualify12651218 2012 832377 2016Group stage12th303011Squad107212711 2020 Did not qualify 6240114 2024Group stage10th 310237Squad96123010 2028 To be determined To be determined 2032TotalBest: Fourth place3/9124351316—6834201413470
Prior to the Barcelona 1992 campaign, the Football at the Summer Olympics was open to full senior national teams.
Summer Olympics historyYearRoundScoreResultGoalscorers for Iraq1900–1988See Iraq national football team2004Group stage 4–2 WinE. Mohammed , H. Mohammed Mahmoud , Sadir 2–0 WinH. Mohammed , M. Karim 1–2 LossSadir Quarter-finals 1–0 WinE. Mohammed Semi-finals 1–3 Loss Farhan Bronze medal 0–1 Loss2016Group stage 0–0 Draw 0–0 Draw 1–1 Draw Abdul-Amir 2024Group stage 2–1 Win A. Hussein , A. Jasim 1–3 LossA. Hussein 0–3 Loss
AFC U-23 Asian Cup AFC U-23 Asian Cup recordQualification recordYearResultPosition* SquadGPWDLGFGA 2013 Champions1st660092Squad5320123 2016 Third place3rd6411127Squad4310154 2018 Quarter-finals6th422084Squad3300121 2020 Group stage10th303044Squad321070 2022 Quarter-finals6th413075Squad220070 2024 Third place3rd640298Squad3210212 2026 Group stage12th302123Squad321091 2028To be determinedTo be determinedTotalBest: Champions7/734171345133—2317608311 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.