Amir Al-Ammari #16

Profile

A leader, the polyglot midfielder speaks Arabic, English, and Swedish, bridging the language barriers within a squad which has a significant contingent from Scandinavia, where many Iraqis settled after decades of conflict. Al-Ammari is one example. His parents met in Kuwait and left after the 1991 Gulf War to settle in Sweden, where he was born. After dropping out of football for a year, Al-Ammari finally found his feet at top-flight side Halmstad. In the same year, Dick Advocaat called him up for a key World Cup qualifier against South Korea, impressing in a 0-0 draw for a hard-fought point in Seoul. Since then, the 28-year-old has become a mainstay for Iraq, scoring the dramatic late penalty in the 17th minute of stoppage time against the UAE to reach the inter-confederation playoff in Monterrey. The player revealed he had no time to celebrate as he was catching a flight back to Poland, where he plays his club football for Crocovia: “I was on my way to the airport, in the back of the car, I was sitting and eating gifflar [small Swedish cinnamon buns].”

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