South American champions Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq in their opening group match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Kolkata on Sunday.

Iraq took a surprise lead in the 16th minute through Mohammed Dawood, before Roberto De La Rosa equalised in the 61st minute as both teams settled for a point in the Group F match.

Mexico managed 15 as against Iraq's six and dominated the proceedings with 63 per cent possession, but their finishing was wayward, with only four shots on target.

Before this India edition, Iraq had taken part only once in this tournament -- in 2013 in UAE, where they lost all three group matches.

Dawood beat the offside trap and drilled a left footed shot past Mexico goalkeeper in the 16th minute to give Iraq the lead.

Thanks to goalkeeper Ali Ibadi, Iraq managed to maintain the lead for 35 minutes after that, despite a wave of attacks from Mexico.

Daniel Lopez was the architect of Mexico's equalizer as he sent a fine cross from the right, which was misread by an Iraqi defender and De La Rosa drilled a low shot into the goal from inside the box.