Iraq shape up to co-hosts Thailand in Saturday's Asian Cup opener here with their country beset by sectarian bloodshed.

Mahmoud goes into the tournament mourning the loss of a close relative while another teammate Noor Sabri is grieiving the recent killing of a loved one.

But the Iraqis, who inspired their nation by just missing out on a football bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, beating Portugal and Australia along the way, are steeling themselves for another tournament run.

Iraq, who have yet to get past the quarterfinal stage in five attempts at the Asian Cup, have never lost to Thailand in the tournament and are confident of it staying that way on Saturday.

This all comes against the backdrop of chaos at home and minimal preparation under their coach of just two months, Brazilian Jorvan Vieira.

"You all know the current situation in Iraq and the hard circumstances we face and this of course effects the national team," Mahmoud said at a press conference here Friday.

"The Iraqi national team has its reputation in Asian and Arab footbball arenas and despite it all I am confident that we will make some good performances.

"We are not here just to take part in the competition but we are here to win. This is not only my personal opinion but all the players."

Mahmoud, who was topscorer in the Qatar league last season, said he had suffered personally in the Iraq sectarian and militia violence, where bomb attacks are an almost daily occurrence.

"I was personally affected with one close relative killed this year," he said.

"This is very difficult for me, and my teammate Noor Sabri, the goalkeeper, a very close relative of his was also killed. We put this behind us and we look forward to playing football here.

"This will not affect us and we try to do our best.

"In Iraq we say that the grief is in our hearts, but we will never show this to people.

"I hope everything will be okay in Iraq very soon and we will organise a future Asian Cup."

Mahmoud believes coach Vieira has coped with an onerous preparation.

"We got good results at the Athens Olympics with good planning and many things were available more than they are now, but with coach Vieira it is quite different, it's more difficult," he said.

"He has had a very short preparation with the players and the majority of our players are playing abroad and it was very difficult to gather the players together, but I think Vieira has done good work and he can produce a good team.

"I am confident we will make a good result in this major tournament."

Vieira, who is well versed in Arab football with stints over 20 years in Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia, says Iraq is ready for the challenge.

"There will be thousands of spectators and more pressure and Thailand will be more comfortable because they are playing with their people behind them, they will be tough," he said.

"But I have players with a lot of experience and they are used to playing. We are ready for all situations and we know we have to be ready, we know the weight of the competition.

"If we are afraid it is better to stay at home, we have to be ready to face all the problems."