They faced South Korea in the semi-finals but lost 0–2 and failed to progress to the final. Iraq finished the AFC Asian Cup in fourth place, after losing 2–3 to United Arab Emirates in third place match. Four years later, Iraq finished fifth in the final round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 3 September 2018, Srečko Katanec was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract. Under Katanec, Iraq reached the round of 16 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as they lost 1–0 to eventual champions Qatar. 2020s Under Katanec, Iraq reached the final round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification with five wins from eight matches including a 2–1 victory against Iran. Iraq went 19 consecutive matches without losing between 2019 and 2021 and moved up from 89th to 68th in the FIFA rankings during Katanec's tenure. Katanec departed in July 2021 after six months of unpaid wages and filed a complaint with FIFA. On 31 July 2021, Dutchman Dick Advocaat was appointed head coach of Iraq. Under Advocaat, Iraq made to a slow start to the third round of World Cup Qualifiers, drawing four games and losing two, and on 21 November 2021, Advocaat resigned. Željko Petrović took charge of the team for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, where Iraq were eliminated from the group stage. Petrović was sacked after two further winless qualifying games and Abdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as an interim manager, but Iraq were eliminated after finishing fourth in the group. On 7 November 2022, Jesús Casas was appointed head coach of Iraq to lead the national team in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. In the first tournament under Casas' leadership, Iraq hosted and won the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup, beating Oman 3–2 after extra time in the final. Team image Kit The Iraqi national football team kit has previously been manufactured by brands such as Adidas, Puma, Nike, Diadora, Jack & Jones, Lotto, Peak, Givova and Umbro. Its current kit supplier is Jako. Kit suppliers Nickname The Iraqi team is commonly known as Usood Al-Rafidain (), meaning "Lions of Mesopotamia". In ancient Mesopotamia, the Babylonian lion was a symbol of power, impetuosity, ferocity, prestige and dominance. This is reflected in the sculpted lions in Babylon, where the processional path is ornamented with ceramic tile bas-reliefs representing a prestigious lion from the time of Nebuchadnezzar