The 2026 World Cup is coming, and Iraq is ready for the tournament, which will be played in the United States, Mexico, and Canada and will feature 48 participants for the first time. The Asian national team will seek to perform well in its return to the World Cup.
In the forecasts, it appears to be by a wide margin the weakest team in its group. Although due to their temperament and what the World Cup means to the country, it is clear that their players will fight to the end for a dignified performance, all indications are that achieving qualification to the next round, even as a third-place team in the group, would be seen as a monumental achievement.
Below, we review everything you need to know about Iraq before the World Cup, including how they qualified, their star players, their World Cup history, and more. Let’s get into it.
How Iraq Qualified
With its playoff victory, Iraq became the last team to qualify for the World Cup. It had reached that stage by finishing third in the second round of Asian qualifying, behind South Korea and Jordan.
The 1-0 victory on the final matchday as a visitor against Jordan, which had already secured its place in the great event by then, was key to securing that spot.
Iraq’s Key Player
With more than 30 goals for Iraq, the 30-year-old striker Aymen Hussein is a symbol of the national team. He confirmed it when he was most needed, with a poacher’s finish that showed all his craft in the box to score the 2-1 winner against Bolivia that secured the World Cup ticket.
Although he never made the jump to Europe, he has had stints in the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, among other countries. He also has a good scoring record in the soccer tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he scored two goals in the three matches he played.
Breakout Potential
Ali Jasim, a 22-year-old forward, showed promise in Iraq’s youth national teams and caught the attention of scouts at Como, the Italian club that has made a name for itself by recruiting young talent from around the world.
Currently on loan at Al-Najma in Saudi Arabia, he is an important substitute piece in the national team’s offense and is on his way to gaining more and more minutes on the field.
Iraq’s World Cup History
Iraq’s only World Cup appearance was in Mexico 1986. Beyond the joy of its debut, it lost all three matches, though each by a narrow margin: 1-0 to Paraguay in its opening match and to Mexico in its final match. In between, in the 2-1 loss to Belgium, Ahmed Radhi scored what remains to this day Iraq’s only goal in World Cup history.
Aimar Sher, a midfielder for the national team and for Sarpsborg 08 in Norway, bears his name in honor of Pablo Aimar. The player himself recounted that his father was a great admirer of the man who is now an assistant to Lionel Scaloni on Argentina’s coaching staff, and that he decided to pay him that tribute when he was born in December 2002, just a few months after Valencia won the Spanish league title with a great performance from the Cordoba star.
Coach Profile
The management brought in Graham Arnold, a 62-year-old Australian, in March 2025 to succeed Spaniard Jesus Casas, after a loss to Palestine that had seriously complicated qualification chances.
They bet on his experience, which included having coached his country’s national team at Qatar 2022, where he reached the round of 16 and made eventual champion Argentina suffer until the end. “The only thing I am here for is to make Iraq and the fans proud,” he said at the press conference announcing his arrival. The objective, a return to the World Cup, has already been achieved.
Arnold was determined, from his arrival, to get the team to improve its ball possession, which he considered essential, and to reorganize their defense. When it comes to going for the goal, they try to be direct and take advantage of the scoring instincts of Al-Hamadi and Hussein, two of the pillars on which their hopes rest.
Iraq’s Group Stage Fixtures
Norway vs. Iraq
- Date: Tuesday, June 16
- Times: 6 pm ET / 3 pm PT
- Venue: Boston
France vs. Iraq
- Date: Monday, June 22
- Times: 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT
- Venue: Philadelphia
Senegal vs. Iraq
- Date: Friday, June 26
- Times: 3 pm ET / 12 pm PT
- Venue: Boston
