Despite serving as the replacement for the suspended first choice Ahmed Ali Jaber, Sabri earned praise for keeping Iraq in contention before Emad Mohammed scored the title-winning goal.

He was quickly back on the sidelines as the team played in the subsequent 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage.

His improvement impressed German coach Bernd Stange so much that the youngster was called into the team that eventually booked a surprise berth to the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Sabri impressed throughout the competition as Iraq reached the semi-final, where they were presented with the daunting task of facing the Korea Republic.

In March 2016, Sabri announced his retirement from international football,[3] adding that the reason is to allow young players an opportunity to represent the Iraqi national team.