YOU can’t call it a homecoming, but Sydney FC midfielder Ali Abbas is immensely proud that his form for the Sky Blues has been rewarded with a recall to the Iraq squad after a seven-year hiatus.

Without an official cap since Iraq won the Asian Cup in 2007, Abbas says the door has been opened for his dream of representing the country’s white shirt at the Asian Cup here in January - but now he must make an unanswerable case to see it through.

With the Asian Cup just 100 days away today, Abbas will leave shortly for Iraq’s friendlies with Bahrain and Yemen in Bahrain, the civil war in Iraq still preventing the national team from playing there.

media_camera Abbas (bottom left) prior to the Australia U23's v Iraq U23's Olympic game qualifier in 2007.

Once in camp, Abbas is desperate to impress coach Hakeem Shaker and secure a spot in the Iraq squad chosen for the Asian Cup.

“That was always in my mind, to get back in the Iraqi team,” he said. “I set myself the challenge, to keep working hard. It’s not there yet, I still need to play well and get my spot [in the team].

“You can’t go there thinking you’ve made it - if you want to be at the top you have to train hard, play well every game and hopefully continue to do my job. It’s been a long time, but now it’s come so I have to take the opportunity.

media_camera Ali Abbas.

“The coach is Iraqi, he did well with the youth team and the Olympic team and now the national team. He’s really good as a coach for Iraq - he’s done well, won a couple of competitions and hopefully he’ll do something special at the Asian Cup.

“That’s my target, and it’s why I need to play so well in these two games. There is the Gulf Cup in November and the Asian Cup in January, and hopefully [I can] continue after that for Iraq.”

Now of course a citizen of both countries, Abbas smiled at the thought of Iraq playing Australia in the Asian Cup. “It would be funny - but at the end of the day it would be football, two teams of committed people and whoever would be better would win the game,” he said. “But it’s just football.”

What position Shaker tries him in for Iraq remains to be seen - the left winger who came to Australia in 2007 has had a spell at left-back, but now settled in central midfield for Sydney.

“To be honest, when I was young, my brother and I always said that if you want to be successful and play for the national team, you have to be able to play at least three or four positions,” Abbas said.

media_camera Sydney FC's Ali Abbas handing jersey's to refugee team Newington Gunners.

“You have to study those positions, ask the coach. When I started with Newcastle, the first two and a half years the coach didn’t give me the opportunity to show my skills. The second half of the third year, in the last five games I played in all of them, scored twice and set up two or three goals.

“Now with Sydney FC, I get more opportunity to play, and hopefully that will continue. Last two years I’ve been working really hard to get what I want.”

“I’m really disappointed to miss the first game [for Sydney FC], I love to play in these big matches. Hopefully I will be back for the second game, to play against Wanderers.”