Aymen Hussein, Iraq captain shaped by tragedy, faces France after World Cup return | OneFootball

Aymen Hussein, emblematic striker of the Lions of Mesopotamia and a team captain, has been forged by hardship and now epitomises Iraq, who face France on Monday at 23:00 in their second World Cup group game.

In L'Équipe’s reporting, his story is bound up with a nation’s resilience. In March in Monterrey, the 30-year-old struck against Bolivia to send Iraq to a first World Cup in 40 years, fulfilling an ambition he had voiced a decade earlier, with team-mate Kevin Yakob expressing pride in him.

He hails from Hawija, a region devastated by war and later an Islamic State stronghold. His father, an Iraqi army officer, was killed by Al-Qaida in 2008. In 2014 his brother was abducted by IS and remains missing, just as Hussein had broken through at senior level in Kurdistan.

Midfielder Aimar Sher depicts a fearsome penalty-box presence, capable of goals from nowhere and dominant in the air. Yakob describes a leader who sets standards by playing at full intensity.

Iraq head coach Graham Arnold views him as the sort of player who would give everything in the shirt, even to the last step. He sees Hussein as an example to younger team-mates and those based abroad, explaining what it means to be Iraqi.

Hussein underlined that edge in the opener against Norway, rising to head an equaliser. Even as Norway led 4-1 late on, he kept pressing and urging others to follow. France and their centre-backs know what awaits, he does not stop.

Source: L'Équipe