MANAMA, May 4: A hot night In New York as a crowd of 70,000 gather at the Giants Stadium for one of the crucial matches of soccer's 1994 World Cup finals — the United States against Iraq, reports AFP.

It sounds like fantasy, but a squad of 28 Iraqi players are already preparing to make the dream of reaching the US-hosted World Cup finals a reality.

Along with trade, Iraqi sport has also suffered from the UN embargo which followed the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.

The country was banned from staging international matches at home, and was only allowed to take part in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers on condition they played all their games abroad.

But if Iraq does reach the World Cup finals in circumstances most teams would find intolerable, it would be considered an achievement for the country.

The Iraqis already represent a genuine threat on the football field. They were probably the best team In the Gulf during the 1980s, represent ing Asia at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

"The mission of the Iraqi team is not easy, but not impossible," says national team coach Adnane Detjal.

But the embargo has taken its toll, and the Olympic committee of Iraq was forced in March to cancel team preparations because of "financial difficulties tn Iraq caused by the unjust embargo."

Since then, under pressure from the Iraqi sporting public, the OC1 has worked hard wtth foreign teams to organise friendly matches abroad, considered vital preparation for the World Cup qualifiers.