CHANGSHU: Iraq coach Abdul Ghani Shahad will field his strongest side when the former champions open their AFC Under-23 Championship Group C campaign against Malaysia at the Changshu Stadium in China on Wednesday.
Abdul Ghani said his side are determined to become champions for the second time after their success in Oman in 2013.
“My players are fit and in good shape, and there are no injuries,” said Abdul Ghani on Sunday.
“We are here to become champions. We are prepared for the tournament and we are now focused on Malaysia.”
In 2013, Iraq were crowned champions following a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia before finishing third in 2016 in Qatar.
Abdul Ghani’s side have a great track record coming into the tournament with only one defeat in nine matches last year. Iraq’s only defeat was against Qatar, who won 1-0, last month, while in the qualifying round, they defeated Afghanistan (8-0), Bahrain (2-1) and Saudi Arabia (2-0).
Although, Abdul Ghani believes his players will have no issues in adapting to the cold weather in Changshu, the former coach of Iraq’s Naft Al-Wasat is not taking Malaysia lightly.
“We have done our homework on Malaysia. The tournament gathers the best 16 teams in Asia and we cannot take any of them lightly.
“Our first goal here is to collect three points against Malaysia,” he added.
Translated from Harian Metro