Man Utd winger Zidane Iqbal makes Iraq debut | OneFootball

Manchester United winger Zidane Iqbal made his Iraq debut on Thursday.

Iqbal made history in December when he became the first player of south Asian descent to represent Manchester United, and the teenager has taken another big step in his young career.

Iqbal made his United bow as a late substitute in the Champions League draw with Young Boys, a game which also saw fellow youngster Charlie Savage handed a first-team debut.

He was named among the substitutes for Iraq as they travelled to World Cup qualifying group leaders Iran.

He replaced Hasan Matrook for the final eight minutes, with his team trailing 1-0, but they were unable to find an equaliser.

Iraq can no longer qualify directly for the World Cup from their group, but they still have an outside chance of reaching the inter-confederational play-offs for a place at Qatar 2022.

They will be back in action on February 1, playing Lebanon away from home, and defeat in that game would all but end their hopes of reaching the tournament.

Iraq have only made the World Cup finals on one previous occasion, reaching the group stages in 1986 but losing all three games to fall at the first hurdle.