Iraq tasted their maiden win of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup as Mohammed Dawood struck twice to inspire them to a 3-0 rout of Chile in their second group game at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Dawood struck in the sixth and 68th minutes in the Group F match and led a one-man attack superbly as a historic pre-quarterfinal berth beckons the Lions of Mesopotamia in their second U-17 World Cup appearance.
Chile conceded an own goal through substitute Diego Valencia in the 81st minute.
With this loss, Chile, the last edition hosts, are virtually out of the tournament.
Iraq, who had drawn their opening match against Mexico 1-1, are now two points behind group leaders England (six points) and their clash on October 14 will decide the group toppers.
Mexico have one point at third place while Chile, without a point so far, have conceded six goals. Chile and Mexico play against each other on October 14.
The scoreline would have matched England's 4-0 thrashing of Chile but their goalkeeper Rodrigo Cancino denied Dawood a deserving hat-trick from a penalty in the second-half stoppage time.
The Asian champions enjoyed a 59 per cent possession.
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It was Dawood who gave the lead with a right-footed shot from a difficult angle in the sixth minute.
Dawood made it three goals from two matches, same as Jadon Sancho of England, when he curled in a free-kick to the bottom right corner of the net in the 68th minute.
He almost struck a hat-trick from the left side of the box but missed the target in the 74th minute as there was no stopping Iraq who became the Asian U-16 champions in Goa last year.
Honduras thrash New Caledonia 5-0
Honduras pumped in five goals without reply against tournament debutants New Caledonia to record an emphatic win in their second group game of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Guwahati on Wednesday.
Carlos Mejia (25th and 42nd) and Patrick Palacios (51st and 88th) struck twice each while Joshua Canales scored the other goal in the 27th minute in the Group E match.
Honduras, who had lost to Japan 1-6 in their campaign opener, now have three points from today's win and they are still contention for a knock-out berth. They play against France on October 14 in their final group game.
New Caledonia, on the other hand, are virtually out of the tournament, having suffered a 1-7 thrashing at the hands of France in their opening match. They play Japan on October 14 in their final group game.
Today's win was Honduras' biggest at a U-17 World Cup since their first appearance in 2007 in South Korea.
