Iraq vs Venezuela, FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up: Player ratings, goals, IRQ vs VEN highlights

Iraq lost 0-2 to Venezuela on Wednesday in the final friendly warm-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Midfielder Cristian Casseres opened the scoring for the South Americans in Bridgeville, Illinois in the 17th minute with a close-range finish.

Venezuela doubled its lead immediately after the break when Casseres won the ball before passing to striker Jesus Ramirez, who dribbled past a defender and fired a powerful shot.

Iraq finished the match with 10 men after striker Ali Youssef was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute.

Iraq returns to the World Cup for the first time since its only appearance 40 years ago and will start its Group I campaign against Norway on June 17 before facing France and Senegal.

Venezuela will not participate in this year’s tournament in North America and remains the only South American country never to qualify for the World Cup.

Player Ratings Iraq vs Venezuela:

Iraq: Jalal Hassan (6.2/10), Hussein Ali (6.8/10), Rebin Sulaka (6.1/10), Manaf Younis (5.8/10), Ahmed Maknzi (5.9/10), Aimar Sher (6.0/10), Ibrahim Bayesh (6.3/10), Kevin Yakob (6.2/10), Ahmed Qasem (5.7/10), Aymen Hussein (6.4/10), Ali Al-Hamadi (6.6/10)

subtitles: Ali Yousif (4.0/10), Mohanad Ali (6.0/10), Zidane Iqbal (6.4/10), Marko Farji (6.1/10), Ahmed Basil (6.0/10), Youssef Amyn (6.2/10), Amir Al-Ammari (6.1/10), Zaid Tahseen (5.9/10), Akam Hashim (5.8/10), Mustafa Saadoon (5.9/10), Frans Putros (6.0/10)

Venezuela: Jose Contreras (7.4/10), Jon Aramburu (7.1/10), Nahuel Ferraresi (7.3/10), Theo Quintero (7.0/10), Luis Balbo (6.9/10), Daniel Pereira (6.8/10), Christian Casseres Jr. Telasco Segovia (7.2/10), Gleiker Mendoza (6.7/10), Ender Echenique (7.0/10), Jesus Ramirez (8.2/10)

subtitles: Joel Graterol (6.5/10), Yangel Herrera (6.1/10), Jorge Yriarte (6.0/10), Kevin Kelsy (6.2/10), David Martinez (6.3/10), Edson Tortolero (5.9/10), Adrián Cova (6.0/10), Marco Libra (5.8/10), Diego Osio (5.9/10)

Published on June 10, 2026