Iraq appoint Abdul Ghani Shahad as head coach of men's national football team

BAGHDAD (Iraq):

Abdul Ghani Shahad

has been named as the new head coach of the Iraq men's national football team.


The 53-year-old replaces Montenegrin

Zeljko Petrovic

following Iraq's poor results in Group A of the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.


After retiring as a player in 1999, the former defender coached Al Najaf before moving to several other clubs in Iraq.

Shahad also coached the Iraq U23 national team on several occasions, including the 2016

AFC U23 Championship

where they finished third. He was also appointed as an interim coach for the senior side in 2016.

Iraq are fifth in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers on five points with just two matches - against UAE and Syria next month - remaining.