Ibrahim Bayesh #8

Profile

Ibrahim Bayesh is something of an enigma. He was once described by former Iraq coach Srecko Katanec as the fittest player in the Iraqi league, while every coach who has taken charge of the Iraqi team has selected him as a regular starter. However, maybe because of his direct playing style (more pragmatic than creative) and the way he conducts himself off the field, Bayesh is not widely appreciated by fans. He is an industrious and dogged battler who has played in almost every position for Iraq since making his debut in 2017, bar goalkeeper, left back and centre-back. The player, with 74 international appearances at the time of writing, continues to be selected, despite calls for him to be dropped, while his recent remarks about the selection of expatriate players under former coach Jesús Casas are unlikely to endear him to supporters. He stated there were “players from outside Iraq who come and don't care about the national team,” adding some received preferential treatment, a reason why they failed to qualify directly from their qualifying group, with players he had never seen before being selected for the first time.

Key stats