Van Marwijk: We lacked effectiveness against Iraq

UAE coach Van Marwijk attributed his loss to Iraq to the lack of effectiveness of his team and the inability to create opportunities to score.

“We played well, especially in the second half, and put pressure on the Iraqi players, but we lacked the effectiveness and the ability to create opportunities to score,” he said in the post-match press conference.

Marwijk said he was angry and talked to the players between the two games to encourage them to organize more on the pitch, but the result remained the same despite the improvement in their performance during the second half.

Marwijk also pointed out that the group who played in this tournament includes a young group, and they are able to achieve positive results.

He concluded: “Iraq got the three points. Bless them for that. You got three chances in the first half, scored two for them. Otherwise, we were the most prominent in the second half, but we were not as effective as we should, and we will prepare ourselves well for the next game against Qatar.”