Iraq lost 2-0 to Venezuela on Wednesday in their final warm-up friendly before the World Cup. Midfielder Cristian Casseres opened the scoring for the South Americans in Bridgeville, Illinois in the 17th minute with a close-range finish. Venezuela doubled their lead immediately after interval when Casseres won the ball before passing to striker Jesus Ramirez, who dribbled past a defender and fired in a powerful shot. Iraq finished the match with 10 men after forward Ali Youssef was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute. Iraq return to the World Cup finals for the first time since their only appearance 40 years ago, and will begin their Group I campaign against Norway on June 17 before facing France and Senegal. Venezuela is not a participant in this year's tournament in North America, and remains the only South American nation to never qualify for the World Cup finals.
