Monterrey, Apr 1: Iraq overcame major logistical issues to become the 48th and final team to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff Tuesday, ending a wait of four decades to return to soccer’s marquee global event.
Ali Almahadi opened the scoring in the 18th minute, Moises Paniagua tied it for Bolivia in the 38th and Aymen Hussein scored the clincher in the 53rd minute for Iraq. The Iraq team will join Group I along with France, Norway and Senegal.
“We have nothing to lose, let’s try to shock the world with a crazy result and performance. It is great that we qualified,” Iraq coach Graham Arnold said. “It is a privilege for us.”
Arnold, who guided Australia at the 2022 World Cup, said he didn’t think his Iraqi players had faced the likes of France star Kylian Mbappe or Norway’s Erling Haaland.
“It will be an honor. We respect those players and what they do, but we will try to win.”
Iraq will be back at the World Cup for the first time since Mexico 1986, kicking off June 16 against Norway at Foxborough, followed by games against France on June 22 at Philadelphia and Senegal at Toronto on June 26.
Bolivia missed out on qualifying for its second World Cup.
“What remains is pain and frustration; we feel devastated by the result,” Bolivia coach Oscar Villegas said. “These young men lost with honor on the field and gave everything to achieve the result, but unfortunately, the country missed out on the World Cup.”
The match was played in front of 49,286 fans at the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, one of three host cities in Mexico for the World Cup.
“I’ve got to give full credit to the players — their fighting spirit was unreal,” Arnold said in comments posted on fifa.com. “They put their body on the line, and 46 million people are proud.”
Earlier this month, Iraq faced uncertainty about even been able to contest the playoffs. The war in Iran resulted in Iraqi players being stranded because their country’s airspace was closed, preventing the team from using commercial flights to leave. Team officials officially asked FIFA to postpone the playoff match.
“Everything that is going on in the Middle East made it a little bit harder but the main thing I said, and I worked very hard on, was their mentality,” Graham said. “I banned social media since the day we got here. I did not want them to think of what is going on in the Middle East because they had to focus on the job we had here.”
The team also faced visa complications because Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq and players struggled to obtain visas. But the issue was resolved when the Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry facilitated visas at other regional embassies.
The team finally arrived in Monterrey on March 21 after a 25-hour journey that included navigating travel restrictions and a stopover in Portugal. (AP)
