Kevin Yakob #19

Profile

Yakob, whose middle name is Enkido, a figure in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, always had links to the country where his grandfather emigrated from in 1971. He started at Assyriska (a Swedish club formed in 1974 by Assyrian immigrants) and then Häcken, where legendary Iraqi player Youra Eshaya once coached. Yakob finally made his debut for Iraq against Colombia in 2023, but lasted just 15 minutes, rupturing his cruciate ligament, putting him out for months, but he remained optimistic. "A dream come true ended in the worst way. Unfortunately, I suffered an ACL injury, but I will do everything I can to come back with God's grace." The player had been there before, tearing the cruciate ligament in the same knee at 18. That happened just nine months after a goalscoring debut in the Allsvenskan. Yakob had been considered one of Sweden's most promising youngsters, but the injury set him back. At 22, he had to do it all over again, and 643 days later he was back playing, and was on the field in Monterrey, guiding Iraq to the World Cup to cap an extraordinary return to football.

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