The Iraqis will be returning to the Olympics for their third appearance after a memorable run to the semi-finals in Athens in 2004 and their qualification for Rio de Janeiro 12 years later.
And while the country’s most recent involvement ended in a group phase elimination, Shenaishil is looking to emulate the achievements of the squad led by Younis Mahmood and Nashat Akram by securing a place in the second phase of the competition.
“All the matches will be difficult and all of them are difficult challenges. We must deal with the matches, each match alone, according to its circumstances and what we need from it. The ambition to achieve good results must be present in the minds of the players.”
The Iraqis will kick off their campaign against Ukraine in Lyon on July 24 before taking on two-time gold medallists Argentina three days later in the same venue, with their final Group B game against Morocco to be played in Nice on July 30.
The draw is a daunting one for Shenaishil and his company but their form in the qualifiers has given the former defender reasons to be confident.
“I believe that Iraq’s return to the Olympics is a great achievement, given the difficult circumstances that the Iraqi Olympic team experienced, as well as the development of football in East and West Asia,” he said.
“Iraq’s return is a return to the history and character of Iraqi football in its Olympic participation.”
Ali Jassim underlined his growing status as one of the brightest prospects in Asian football in helping the Iraqis secure their place at the finals through his performances at the AFC U23 Asian Cup and the 20-year-old will be a key member of Shenaishil’s squad in France.
The head coach has further strengthened his squad with the addition of the permitted three overage players, with defender Saad Natiq, midfielder Ibrahim Bayesh and striker Aymen Hussein all drafted into the 18-man squad.
“In this tournament, we are trying to deal with everything according to the tools we have compared to other teams,” said Shenaishil.
“Therefore, our ambition must be realistic and we must think about presenting an honourable level in Iraqi football, and the ambition must be to achieve good results.
“The first goal is to qualify for the second league despite the difficulty of the group in which There are three different international football schools in Africa, Europe and South America.”
