00:09I was born in Sweden, but I played for the Iraqi national team.
00:13My parents, in my upbringing, they have been very talkative to me and, you know, told me about my origin.
00:21And yeah, it's been a big part of my childhood.
00:25We lived in Liverpool, but both my parents were obviously Iraqi.
00:29We ate Iraqi food, we watched Iraqi TV shows, listened to Iraqi music.
00:34When I entered the house and I went through those doors, it felt like home.
00:38But I think what football has done is helped bridge that gap between different cultures, between different environments.
00:4540 years, it was way too long for Iraq to get back to the world stage.
00:50A lot of stuff probably wasn't in our control, you know, maybe not being able to play at home for
00:54so many years as well,
00:55really affected our chances of qualifying.
00:59But I think it's all about perspective and life and football, and we're just trying to flip it in a
01:04way that's going to benefit us and help us achieve something of this World Cup.
01:09We have players from all over the world, from Iraq and outside, and we work together as a collective.
01:14No matter the differences that we might have, we are a team and we work for a common goal.
01:20All the challenges we have to face through the qualification stages, that was probably the best footballing night of my
01:29life.
01:32We didn't see ourselves losing, no matter what happened in the game.
01:38I don't think you can put words into it.
01:41I will always be proud and grateful that I will be able to be in that moment.
01:45To have a moment like that, it's a memory that bonds us forever now, so it's really special.
01:54Every time we have to put that Iraq shirt on, it's a very heavy responsibility, and you can feel the
01:58weight of a whole nation.
02:00We know the Iraqi people have high expectations, and they believe very highly in us, and that's a compliment.
02:06For me, we're definitely one of the strongest teams on the Asian continent, so we should have that expectation of
02:11ourselves.
02:12Iraqi people, no matter what happens, they stand up, they rise, they go again, and look for a better day
02:18tomorrow, and that's the same mentality we have in the national team.
Comments