Iraqi footballer
Muntadher Mohammed (Arabic: منتظر محمد; born 5 June 2001) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or left-back for Persian Gulf Pro League club Mes Rafsanjan and the Iraq national team.[2]
Club career
Mohammed was on the bench for Al-Zawraa's AFC Champions League match on 7 April 2021, against Al-Wahda in Abu Dhabi.[3] On 19 July 2021, Muntadher started the Iraq FA Cup final in the Iraqi El Clasico against rivals Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, playing the full ninety as his side lost on penalties. Two months later, he came on as Al-Zawraa beat Al-Jawiya to take the 2021 Iraqi Super Cup, his first title at club and senior level.[citation needed]
Muntadher Mohammad joined the Esteghlal team on August 3, 2023 with a two-year contract.[citation needed]
International career
Mohammed has represented Iraq at every single age category, winning three titles and captaining his country from U-18 onwards, and has competed at the AFC Asian Championship and FIFA World Cup at youth level.[4]
Iraq U-14
Muntadher received his first international call-up in 2014, when he travelled to Iran with Iraq's U-14s and won the AFC U-14 Championship, topping their group ahead of South Korea and beating North Korea in the final.[5]
Iraq U-17
In 2015, Mohammed was invited to join Iraq's U-16s in their qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship. He helped Iraq win their group and qualify for the final tournament, where he was called up. He helped Iraq win the tournament, scoring twice and qualifying for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[6]
In October 2017, Muntadher was called up to the Iraq U-17 squad for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He played in all four of Iraq's matches as they made it to the Round of 16.[7]
Iraq U-20
In August 2019, Muntadher captained his country for the first time, leading Iraq's U-18s to the 2019 WAFF U-18 Championship title, his third international trophy.[8]
In November 2017, Mohammed was called up to the Iraq U-19 squad for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers, where Iraq finished second in their group and qualified.[9]
In the following qualifiers, he captained Iraq's U-19s and scored in their final match as they won their group undefeated and qualified for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship.[10] In January 2021, after several delays, the AFC cancelled the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
In February 2020, Mohammed captained Iraq's U-20s in the U-20 Arab Cup as they made it to the quarter-finals.[12]
Iraq U-23
Muntadher was the captain of the Iraq U-23s that won their qualifying group and qualified to the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in October 2021. He scored in Iraq's final qualifier against Bahrain.[13]
Iraq
Following his impressive stint captaining the U-23s, Muntadher received his first senior international call-up for Iraq's World Cup qualifiers against Syria and South Korea, remaining an unused sub in both matches.[14]
He was then included in Iraq's 2021 FIFA Arab Cup squad, making his debut off the bench in their opening match against Oman.[15]
Personal life
Muntadher's older brother Mustafa Mohammed is also a footballer and was his teammate at Al-Zawraa between 2019 and 2021.[16]
