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Iraq, the reigning U-16 AFC champions, came into this game on the back of an impressive draw against Mexico. Mexico is the latest U-17 CONCACAF champions and twice past winners of the U-17 World Cup. Except for a defensive lapse in that game in the second half, Iraqi's had a good game especially in the first half and went one up at the five-minute mark.
They continued with their early scoring against Chile as well when Mohammed Dawood struck in the sixth minute. And in this game instead of making any defensive mistakes, they rather went on to on score twice more. They could have equalled the England 's 4 - 0 score had Dawood not missed a penalty in order to complete his hat-trick.
Chile could only be accommodated in a mention by labelling them as unmentionable. They were equally out of their depths in this match as they were against England.
Even then a Chilean managed to feature in this top five list. Who?
Read for yourself in the top 5 of this match as below -
Mohammed Dawood | Iraq | Forward
This 5' 7" right-footed striker is a bolt of lightning. His knack of scoring early is surely bound to make him the crowd favourite. He willingly obliged the cheering spectators at the 6-minute mark with a blazing pile-driver through a narrow-angle between the keeper and the right post.
He also managed to draw out a foul twice. For the first infringement, he was rewarded with a free-kick outside the box. He deftly guided the ball to the top right corner to score his second goal. The second challenge on him resulted in a penalty which came at the 92nd-minute mark, but sadly he missed it, unable to complete his hat-trick.
It may be noted that he again committed a foul - his second in two games on the trot- this one in the 45th minute.
Mohammed Ridha | Iraq | Midfielder
He is the captain of the team and in his second game played like one. He teamed up with Dawood to frequently trouble the Chilean team. He won a free-kick in the 18th minute in the attacking half and his 53rd-minute left-footer from outside the box was blocked.
He would probably have ended in the score-list with his blazing strike in the 81st minute. It was ultimately mentioned as an own goal by Diego Valencia whose botched attempt to save accomplished the contrary.
Muntadher Mohammed | Iraq | Defender
Muntadher had also made his mark in the game against Mexico though not enough to be in the top 5. We did give him an honourable mention. In this game, he came onto his own. He really had good 2-3 attempts most notably in the 12th minute when his right-footed shot from outside the box was blocked. He also seemed to be in with a chance in the 45th minute when his left footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the centre of the goal.
Besides direct attempts, he contributed with a couple of assists - one in the 13th minute with a cross following a corner, the other with a cross in the 19th minute to Maytham Jabbar whose header was ultimately blocked.
Incidentally, Muntadher Mohammed also committed a foul in the 43rd minute.
Martin Lara | Chile |Midfielder
When we will tell you that he was shown the yellow card in the 66th minute, you might wonder what can make him feature here without a score, any remarkable assists or attempts. But if you see it this way, at least he was trying to bug them doggedly enough to 'merit' a card, when the rest of his teammates were decidedly listless. He tried his best to hold the game in the midfield and to get the momentum going. He did manage to win a free kick in the 21st minute.
Bassam Shakir | Iraq | Midfielder
A very engaging player, Bassam had a good game as well. His left footed shot taken from the right from a difficult angle at the 56th minute barely missed the target as it swerved just a bit more to the right.
Honorable Mentions-
Muntadher Abdulsada | Iraq | Defender
Moamel Kareem | Iraq | Midfielder
Alaa Adnan | Iraq | Forward
