Iraqi Chairman Says "Hold Home Game Against Korea in June, No Problem"... Hong Myung-bo, Iraq's Basra expedition in June
Iraqi Chairman Says "Hold Home Game Against Korea in June, No Problem"... Hong Myung-bo, Iraq's Basra expedition in June
Blog Article
Adnan Darzal, president of the Iraqi Football Association (IFA), clearly expressed his official view that the home game against Korea in June will take place at the scheduled schedule and venue.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, is set to play against Iraq in the ninth round of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup at Basra National Stadium on June 6. South Korea, which has maintained its lead in Group B despite the recent three consecutive draws, really needs to win the upcoming away match in Iraq to confirm its advance to the World Cup finals.
Ahead of the match, there were voices of concern in South Korea over whether the match could be held due to security issues in Iraq. Iraq is one of the travel-free countries set by the South Korean government, and even if it was just the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, this security issue forced Iraq to play its home game in a third country.
However, Iraq has taken a different step than before, playing World Cup qualifiers at a new national stadium in the southern city of Basra for the past two to three years. Therefore, when South Korea met with Iraq in the third qualifying group for the World Cup, the possibility of an away trip to Ibas was mentioned realistically.
In this regard, Dharzal said, "The Iraqi Football Association has completed all administrative procedures related to the Iraq-Korea war. The Korean delegation has also been issued a visa for entry to the Korean delegation. The Korean administrative delegation will arrive in Iraq soon to complete technical and operational preparations."
"FIFA's decision to hold the match in Basra has been finalized, and an official notification will be sent to the Iraqi Football Association soon. Our association makes it clear that it is fully preparing for the international match scheduled for June," he said, expressing confidence in hosting the match.
Winwin also delivered a comment from an insider of the Iraqi Football Association regarding the hosting of the Korean match. The person said, "The Iraqi Football Association has not received any official notification from FIFA to change the venue of the match. This is just an arbitrary 안전놀이터 interpretation of some of the Korean media." The source assessed that the fact that figures claiming to be Korean reporters sent English e-mails to Iraqi reporters and asked for confirmation caused a controversy in Iraq.