The Lions of Mesopotamia had run riot in a 5-1 triumph over their upcoming opponents two months ago in the Preliminary Joint Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™, but Rashid believes the task will not be as easy this time around.
“It will be a very hard match, we already faced them in Basra and beat them 5-1, so it is a bit dangerous because it is easy to get complacent and because they also know us well now,” said Rashid.

“We don’t think it will be easy, we have to be fully focused because in Basra we played against them and we won because we were very good defensively, but they arrived in our box just once and they scored from it, so we have to be very careful.”

Having represented his nation in Australia 2015 where they reached the semi-finals and UAE 2019 where they exited in the Round of 16, the 32-year-old midfielder is eager to share his vast AFC Asian Cup experience with his younger teammates as he draws inspiration from Iraq’s title-winning campaign in 2007.

“For me it’s a big honour to play in a tournament like this. My first in 2015 in Australia was an amazing experience and we did a good job, then I played again in UAE 2019. Now it is the third one and it’s a big honour. I try to explain this to my younger teammates who are just playing their first Asian Cup. I tell them to enjoy the experience and do everything to make our Iraqi people happy.

“I remember the final of 2007, I was watching the final with my family, I remember when Younis Mahmoud scored, we went out and celebrated. I played with some of those players from 2007 and it was a nice memory.

“Recently, we won the Gulf Cup, so it gave us an idea about the feeling of winning a tournament and bringing happiness to our players, and we would love to experience that in this tournament.”

Despite being eight years Rashid’s junior, Asnawi Mangkualam captains his nation, and has expressed his pride in leading Team Garuda out as they return to the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since co-hosting the tournament in 2007.

“We are in good condition. Two months ago, we met Iraq in the qualifiers, but we are in a better condition now and are ready to give our best tomorrow,” said Mangkualam.

“Of course, I’m very happy that we qualified again after 16 years. There are a lot of young players in our squad so I have a big responsibility in this team, and I will carry those responsibilities as a captain with pride. The Indonesian people have high expectations of us, and we will do our best to reach the knockout stage.”