In an interview on the eve of the clash against France, the coach of the Iraq national team, Graham Arnold, stated that, to try to stop Kylian Mbappé and the other French stars, he even asked – without naming who – if they could play with three goalkeepers.
In Philadelphia, the venue for the World Cup Group I match, Australian Arnold used humor when explaining his game plan: “I asked if we could play with three goalkeepers, but they said no.”
“They have incredible players, and that’s an honor [enfrentá-los]but we are focused on ourselves, on our own performance. We are making sure the players are fully prepared to go out there and show the world what they are capable of.”
“I’ve always been a coach who goes onto the field hoping to win a game, not trying not to lose”, added the Australian coach.
“When you have that mentality, yes, there will be days where maybe it doesn’t work, but there will be a lot of days where it works. We’re going to go in with conviction and expectation of winning, and that puts the players in a good mental state.”
Iraq, which is competing in its first World Cup since 1986, currently occupies 57th place in the FIFA rankings, led precisely by France, one of the big favorites for the title.
In the first World Cup game in North America, Iraq lost 4-1 to Erling Haaland’s Norway, who scored two goals.
Arnold also commented on French coach Didier Deschamps, who will step down at the end of the World Cup after 14 years in charge.
“He’s a fantastic coach and he’s had a lot of success with France. You can see that all the players love him by the way they react to him constantly, and that will be a motivation for France to try and do something special for him in his last World Cup.”
