India U23 side suffers narrow defeat against Iraq in preparatory friendly

Updated 26 August 2025 11:08 AM

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India U23 side suffers narrow defeat against Iraq in preparatory friendly

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 25 (PTI) The Indian U23 men's football team lost 1-2 against Iraq U23 in a closed-door friendly match at the UM Arena Stadium here on Monday.

Mohammed Sanan scored the only goal for the Blue Colts in the 39th minute after Dhulfiqar Younus had handed Iraq the lead in the 36th. The majority of the match was evenly contested before Mustafa Nawaf Zai scored the winner for Iraq in the 72nd minute.

India will play another closed-door friendly against Iraq on August 28 in the Malaysian capital.

Coached by Naushad Moosa, India are preparing for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held from September 3-9 in Doha, where the Blue Colts will face Bahrain (September 3), hosts Qatar (September 6), and Brunei Darussalam (September 9). 

This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.

Tags: India U23, Iraq, football friendly, preparatory match, Indian football, U23 team, sports news, football news, India vs Iraq, football preparation