Iraq were forced to play with 10 men from the seventh minute following Rebin Sulaka’s sending off, with Casas not only proud of their resilience but also the fact that they could have walked away with full points from the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium.

“We were at a disadvantage almost from the beginning and the least we deserved after the expulsion was a point,” said Casas.

“In fact, we had chances to score even after going down to 10 men so given the circumstance we found ourselves in, one point is better than coming out with a loss.”

The draw took Iraq’s point tally to four, level with Jordan and Korea Republic but third on goal difference with Casas hoping his players are more competitive for the October fixtures.

“I certainly hope that all the players play competitively in their leagues before the next matches as this is crucial for the national team in a competition like the Asian Qualifiers.”

The draw meant Kuwait got the second point of their campaign after having opened their challenge with a 1-1 stalemate against Jordan last week with head coach Juan Pizzi confident his side have a good shot at qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

“We played to win this match but we were not successful in that, however, the opportunity still exists in the upcoming matches to show our best,” said Pizzi.

“I am still at the beginning of my mission with Kuwait and we will work on correcting the mistakes we made during the matches against Jordan and Iraq and strengthening the positives and developing them in a better way.”