Former UAE coach Dick Advocaat to take charge of Iraq for World Cup qualifiers

Veteran coach Dick Advocaat will take charge of a seventh national team after being unveiled as the new coach of Iraq, the country’s football association has announced.

It comes just months after the 73-year-old said he was retiring from the game, leaving Dutch club Feyenoord at the end of last season, but he said it was too good an offer to turn down.

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“When this opportunity came, I wanted to seize it. We're going to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, that’s something worth participating in,” he told Dutch media.

“It's a nice challenge. I will be busy eight days a month, otherwise I'm in the Netherlands. And people immediately think of money, but countries like this don't have that much money. I’m not doing it for that. It's a challenge. I'm looking forward to it.”

Iraq finished second behind neighbours Iran in Group C of the Asian qualifiers last month to advance to a second group phase, where they are in a six-team group with Iran again, Lebanon, South Korea, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. The top two teams qualify for the World Cup in Qatar next year.

Advocaat starts in September away at South Korea - one of his former charges - before a home match against Iran, likely played in Doha, Qatar.

Advocaat has been the Dutch coach three times and also taken charge of the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Belgium, Russia and Serbia.

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.