Agencies
Doha
Jesus Casas declared Iraq’s performance “close to the perfect match” after the Lions of Mesopotamia booked their place in the last 16 of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 on Friday with an impressive 2-1 win over four-time champions Japan at Education City Stadium.
Aymen Hussein scored both goals for Casas’ side before Wataru Endo headed in a late consolation as the Iraqis notched up back-to-back wins that guarantee their progress to the Round of 16 ahead of their final group game against Vietnam.
“Today’s a great day for the Iraqi people but for us it’s only one win,” said the Spaniard. “We have six points but we have to think about Vietnam. After today the players need to rest, to enjoy but I think my players are very smart.
“It’s only one match today and after that we have to think about Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam.
“This tournament is very hard. All tournaments are very hard, because in one tournament like this one mistake, bye-bye no more. We have to think only about Vietnam and, after Vietnam, the next opponent.”
The 2007 champions stunned the Japanese by taking the lead in the fifth minute when Hussein headed in from close range and, four minutes into injury time at the end of the half, the 27-year-old was on hand to nod in again and earn his team a famous win.
Those goals capped a team performance that saw Iraq dominate in midfield with their intensity throughout the opening 45 minutes, leaving Endo and Hidemasa Morita chasing shadows for much of the first half.
“Football is fighting, it’s the quality you most need to be competitive,” said Casas. “It’s important to win a match. My way since I came to the Iraq national team is the same, also in friendly matches I chose the players who can be fighters but good players too.
“The difference at this level with the national team is you need balance between fighting and quality.
“The perfect match doesn’t exist. It’s impossible to have a perfect match. But we were close to the perfect match.” Iraq prevailed with the backing of the majority of the crowd inside Education City Stadium and Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu admitted the partisan support played their part in the outcome of the game.
“We prepared in the same way as we prepared for the first game against Vietnam but in the beginning we found ourselves in a difficult position, especially with the crowd it felt like an away game,” he said.
“The second goal hit us hard, but we have to learn from our mistakes. The players fought very hard and I must take the blame for the loss. The tournament hasn’t ended, we have to prepare for victory in the game against Indonesia.
“When we lose or win in any game I try to stay positive and try to take the positives from bad games, to come back better,” Moriyasu added.
“From my players and my staff, the process and attitude towards this game wasn’t bad. I saw some good things from our team, but I have to congratulate the whole of the Iraq team. They played excellent football today. But we have to come back stronger.”
