In the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 20-year-old Ali is
frequently stopped in his working-class Hurriya
neighbourhood by people wanting a photograph with their idol.

With his black beard, curly hair and football shirt, Iraqi
striker Hussein Ali is often mistaken for one of the
world's top players: Egypt's Mohamed Salah.

In the
Iraqi capital Baghdad, 20-year-old Ali is frequently
stopped in his working-class Hurriya neighbourhood by
people wanting a photograph with their idol. Although
he is himself a striker, for the Al-Zawraa club, it is Ali's
likeness to Salah which piques Iraqis' interest.

At the
first training session, he introduced himself as 'Hussein
Ali'. I replied, 'No, no, you are Mohamed Salah," said
Ali's coach Adnan Mohammad. Back when Salah was
playing for AS Roma, Ali was aware of the resemblance
but took the comments as "a joke".

But when the Egyptian shot to global fame in the
Premier League -- becoming "the number one footballer
for all Arabs" according to Ali -- his Iraqi doppelganger
started to seriously work on his image.

Since then, he has started wearing the red shirt of
Salah's club Liverpool.