A surprising act by Zidane Iqbal. The young midfielder recently turned down a call-up to the Iraqi national team in order to focus on Manchester United.
Iqbal's name has been the talk of the Iraqi people since the beginning of last year. Because he managed to penetrate the Iraqi national team's first team even though at that time he was still playing in the Manchester United youth team.
Iqbal himself regularly gets calls from the Iraqi national team. He is recorded to have played two matches in the senior Iranian national team.
Iqbal himself should have returned to defend the Iraqi national team in this international break. But the player refused his country's request.
Check out Iqbal's situation in full below.
Already Asked for Permission
This news was confirmed directly by the director of the Iraqi national team, Mahdi Karim. He said that his party had summoned Iqbal to defend the Iraqi national team in the Jordan tournament.
But the young man decided to reject the call in order to focus on Manchester United.
"Zidane Iqbal has apologized for not being able to play for the [Iraq] national team because he wants to focus on the club," he told the Manchester Evening News.
Get Permission
The report claims that the Iraqi national team can tolerate Iqbal's request. So they gave permission for the young man not to participate in this international break.
This is because the Jordan tournament was not included in the official FIFA agenda. So they can give chances to other players.
They also considered that Iqbal would also be more useful if he could secure a position in the MU first team. So they fully support his decision.
Will Get Playing Hours
Iqbal himself is projected by Erik Ten Hag to play more in the MU first team.
This is because United will play nine matches throughout October 2022. So Ten Hag must rotate within his team.