Man Utd’s Zidane Iqbal set for Iraq debut in Iran

Manchester United teenager Zidane Iqbal will be called up by Iraq and is set to be handed a testing international debut away at Iran next week, Sky Sports News understands.

Sky Sports News last year revealed England face the prospect of missing out on Iqbal with Iraqi football chiefs keen to secure the 18-year-old’s services at senior international level. Iqbal has previously captained and scored for Iraq’s U23s.

The Manchester-born midfielder is eligible to represent England, Iraq and Pakistan at international but has never been called up to an England age-group squad. He will now join the Iraq squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Iran and Lebanon.

Both matches are away, and Iqbal faces the most exacting of international debuts against Iraq’s long-term rivals Iran at Tehran’s formidable Azadi Stadium next Thursday, where he could line up against former Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Newcastle-linked striker Sardar Azmoun. Iraq travel to Beirut to play Lebanon five days later.