Iraq — World Cup 2026 Squad & Fixtures

Iraq's only World Cup appearance came in 1986, when they lost all three group matches and scored one goal: a penalty by Ahmed Radhi against Belgium, which was also Iraq's only shot on target across the entire tournament. The 1986 campaign is remembered less for the football than for the political context surrounding Iraq's participation under Saddam Hussein's regime. Iraq had qualified for the 1980 and 1984 Olympics and won the 1982 Asian Games, but the World Cup stage exposed the gap between regional success and global competition. The 2026 tournament ends a 40-year absence and coincides with a generation of Iraqi players who have rebuilt the national team's competitive standing in Asian football.

Iraq qualified through the AFC playoff pathway, advancing through a qualifying group that included South Korea and Japan, two of Asia's strongest sides, before winning a decisive playoff. The campaign required results in hostile away environments and resilience in matches where the margin between qualification and elimination was a single goal. Jesús Casas has built a side that does not concede easily, six clean sheets in the final qualifying round, and takes chances when they appear rather than forcing the play.

Iraq's defensive discipline under Casas gives them a structure that previous World Cup teams from the country lacked, but the squad's attacking depth is thinner than their group-stage opponents. Group I pairs them with Scotland, South Korea, and Haiti, South Korea will dominate possession, but Scotland and Haiti present opportunities for points. A win in the tournament, Iraq's first, would be the programme's most significant result, and the defensive organisation to achieve it is in place even if the attacking quality to do it consistently is not.

Aymen Hussein leads the line with physical presence that disrupts centre-backs in aerial duels, and his hold-up play gives Iraq's midfielders time to join attacks that would otherwise break down before reaching the box. Zidane Iqbal progresses the ball through midfield with a comfort on the ball that Iraq have lacked in previous cycles: his passing accuracy under pressure is the technical standard the rest of the midfield builds around.