On Monday, Nashville SC midfielder Ahmed Qasem made his first World Cup start, playing the full 90 minutes in Iraq's 3-0 loss to France in Group I.
Qasem, 22, started on the left side of Iraq's 4-1-4-1. He touched the ball 23 times, completing 12 of his 15 attempted passes, as well as creating one chance. With France dominating the match, Qasem's attacking output was limited – per Futi, Les Bleus controlled 55% of possession, but had a dominant 83% field tilt.
Iraq will play Senegal in their final match of the group stage. With zero points from their first two matches, SixOneFive Soccer's World Cup Forecaster gives them just a 6.7% chance of advancing as one of the eight best third-place teams, the lowest of any team who has not been officially eliminated. Iraq will need not just a win against Senegal, but will need to make up some of their -6 goal differential and get help elsewhere to have a shot at advancing to the Round of 32.
