Spain held to draw by Iraq in friendly as both teams prepare for World Cup

As anticipated, Spain dominated possession entirely in the opening exchanges, and this nearly translated to the scoreline eight minutes into the match, but Ahmed Basil responded brilliantly to deflect Alex Baena's shot wide after the ball had passed through Zaid Tahseen's legs.

However, the Iraq goalkeeper was rendered helpless on the quarter-hour mark, as a rapid forward move allowed Ferran Torres to gather the ball following a clever Borja Iglesias stepover and glide up the pitch before finishing clinically.

Undeterred, Graham Arnold's side stunned their hosts by equalising in the 27th minute, when a bold Merchas Doski effort from a narrow angle flew over Joan Garcia and into the net, securing the left-back's first international goal.

Basil was again called into action to deny Dani Olmo after a defence-splitting pass from Torres, but Iraq posed a threat of their own as Marc Bernal and Gavi both received bookings for bringing down Marko Farji.

Nevertheless, Torres continued to demonstrate his intent. Basil got the slightest of touches on his shot to deflect it onto the crossbar, sending the game into the interval level.

A total of eight substitutions were made before the restart, and several of Luis de la Fuente's players immediately entered the action.

Firstly, Jesus Rodriguez almost made an immediate impact, firing a long-range shot agonisingly wide before Yeremy Pino saw his shot deflected behind for a corner, which debutant Jon Martin headed wide.

Gonzalo García directed his shot from a whipped Baena cross off target, before a flurry of additional changes from both benches disrupted the flow of the game.

The hosts continued to press, but Iraq held firm for a draw, extending Usood al-Rafidayn's unbeaten streak to 3 consecutive matches ahead of their first World Cup since 1986. The calibre of opposition this time makes that even more encouraging, given that they will face a tough trio of Norway, France and Senegal.

The draw brings Spain's record to one defeat in their last 29 matches, but the result will hold little significance, as some of the players featured are not part of de la Fuente's squad for the finals and other key members are absent.