Graham Arnold, the new head coach of Iraq, is sure that he can take the team to its first FIFA World Cup in 40 years. They are getting ready for the next round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 event.
The Australian coach, who took over from Spaniard Jesus Casas in May, wants to help Iraq make it to the World Cup for the first time since 1986. In the next round of qualifications, Iraq will play against Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. All of the games will be held in Jeddah this October.
The group winner will get a spot in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
“I have a lot of experience playing against both the Saudi and Indonesian national teams. Arnold added, “I know what they’re good at and what they’re not good at.”
“But we are Iraq, a very proud country with a higher FIFA ranking than both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. We need to show that.”
Arnold is counting on his long career as a coach, especially his time with Australia, to motivate Iraq’s effort. His biggest accomplishment was leading the Socceroos to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, where they lost to Argentina, who went on to win the tournament.
After a scoreless tie with Indonesia in Jakarta in September of last year, the 61-year-old left his job as head coach of Australia. Arnold’s Iraq will play Saudi Arabia on October 14 at the same King Abdullah Sports City Stadium where his Australian team lost a close World Cup qualifier 1-0 in March 2022.
