Ali Al-Hamadi #9

Profile

When Al-Hamadi made his debut for Iraq in a World Cup qualifier at 19, the Maysan-born Scouser had just made the biggest decision of his career, leaving Swansea in search of regular first-team football. The gamble paid off as Al-Hamadi eventually joined Ipswich and became the first Iraqi player in the Premier League. His journey to England’s top tier via Wimbledon and Wycombe showed his goalscoring prowess, mentality, drive and character. His career with Iraq so far has seen its fair share of ups and downs. After finally earning a start, he was substituted after just two minutes when his team went down to 10 men. Al-Hamadi then spent a spell out injured and saw red in Graham Arnold's first game. Having been in and out of the team because injuries he made an emotional goalscoring return in Moterrey, heading in the opener in the playoff victory over Bolivia.

Key stats