How Hussein overcome loss and pain to become Iraq's World Cup hope
· Yahoo Sports
When Iraq's World Cup hope, Aymen Hussein, talks about his life, the focus isn't on goals and titles, but on loss and pain.
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The national team striker lost his father as a child and a few years later, his brother was kidnapped and they haven't heard from him since.
Despite this, Hussein fought his way to the top of Iraqi football and, with the decisive goal against Bolivia, secured his country’s first World Cup berth in 40 years.
Ahead of the World Cup opener against Norway on Tuesday, Hussein looked back on the worst moments of his life.
The first tragedy struck in 2008 when his father, a soldier in the Iraqi army, was killed by al-Qaeda, which controlled Kirkuk and the surrounding areas at the time.
"He went to buy some materials for our new, under-construction house. A few hours later, we received a call saying 'your father has been killed and his body is in the hospital,'" he told Al Jazeera in an interview.
Hussein was just 12 years old at the time.
"We didn't believe it at first. But then we went to the hospital to find my father's dead body lying there. It was a disaster to all of us," he said.
A few years later, his older brother, who joined the Iraqi army after his father was murdered, was kidnapped.
"We have heard nothing about him since. I decided to quit playing football to take care of my family, but my mother refused. She asked me to continue playing," Hussein said.
For the World Cup, he also had to overcome other obstacles such as visa and being questioned for hours by border officials when entering the United States.
Despite all the setbacks, the 30-year-old is now set to compete in the biggest tournament of his career. France and Senegal are the other teams in his group.
"Aymen is a name that needs no introduction. His performance speaks for him not only in Iraq, but in the region and Arab football. The team will absolutely need him, and his presence will make the difference in the World Cup," Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan said.