Month January 2025
The media photographer Muhanned al attabi
Iraqi coach Talib Jaloub has criticized Iraq coach Jesus Casas and revealed some serious facts about the participation of the “Lions of Mesopotamia” with him in the Gulf Cup “Gulf 26” in Kuwait, stressing that the Spanish coach is not fit to coach the Iraqi national team.
The Iraqi national team left the “Gulf 26” in Kuwait after losing to its Saudi counterpart 3-1 in the match that brought the two teams together at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in the third round of the tournament.
The Iraqi national team to the unknown
Jalloub said, “The Iraqi national team presented one of the worst tournaments in its history, as the team suffered greatly against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and defeated Yemen with great difficulty, and this warns that the team’s position is declining and must be stopped and not overlooked because the Iraqi team did not appear with a specific identity and did not present a performance befitting the name and status of Iraqi football, which has always produced the most prominent players over the years.”
He added: “It is necessary to change coach Jesus Casas after the end of the Gulf 26 competitions, because Iraq is going with him into the unknown, and the team may suffer a setback in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Palestinian and Jordanian national teams. The Spanish coach does not have enough experience and is an incapable coach who is unable to use his tools in the best possible way. In every loss, he justifies and talks about excuses for the absence of players and the short duration of the tournament.”
He added: “I am the first coach in Iraq to say that Casas is not fit to lead the Iraqi national team, and I revealed all his cards against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The coach enjoyed immunity and fierce defense from the Iraqi fans, but after these poor levels, today there is a consensus that the coach is not good and cannot provide anything to the Iraqi national team and the team will not develop under his leadership.”
He continued: “There are many comments on Casas, including that he summoned players to market them in the tournament, and this is a shameful matter for Iraqi football. The Iraqi team represents the country’s reputation and it is necessary to address it and appear in the best possible way; but unfortunately Casas has distorted the features of the beautiful image of Iraqi football.”
He added: “Casas lost the style of play that he used to apply in some matches, and submitted to the players’ style, which is long play and direct balls from defense to attack. If we compare Casas to the coach of Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, you will see the big difference in terms of performance. Iraqi football is not going through its best conditions and the reason is the Spanish technical staff,” according to winwin.
The Iraqi national team will face the Kuwaiti and Palestinian national teams in the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the United States, Canada and Mexico on March 20 and 25.
The media photographer Muhanned al attabi