Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi was red-carded after 25 minutes of his return to the Iraq side in this evening’s World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Basra.
The 23-year-old, who was winning his 15th full cap, was dismissed after a VAR check for catching Cho Yu-min in the face with a high boot. The game ended 2-0 to the South Koreans, who confirmed their qualification for the 2026 finals.
Former AFC Wimbledon and Wycombe striker Al-Hamadi was making his first Iraq appearance since October last year.
Al-Hamadi, who spent the second half of the season on loan at Stoke City, will be suspended for Iraq’s second June World Cup qualifier Jordan on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Axel Tuanzebe was absent from the DR Congo squad facing Mali in a friendly in Orleans this evening. The Congolese won 1-0.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia won 2-0 in Bahrain to move three points behind Cameron Burgess’s Australia, who are second in their World Cup group and on the cusp of confirming qualification.
The teams meet in the group’s final match in Jeddah on Tuesday with the Saudis, who have scored six goals in their previous nine qualifiers, needing to win by five goals in order to turnaround the current goal difference of eight.
https://x.com/IraqFootballPod/status/1930701561199575169