After a gruelling 28-month qualifying quest, Iraq are finally ready to seal their spot at the 2026 World Cup and end the country’s long wait for a return to the big stage.
After grinding through four rounds of Asian qualifiers, just one match remains in Iraq’s more-than-two-year-long journey to reach the global finals for the first time since 1986. On Tuesday, they play Bolivia in the intercontinental play-off final, in Mexico. It will be their 21st match on the road to North America.
“It’s already been such a long journey and a long story, but a story that will hopefully end in a good way on Tuesday,” Iraq midfielder Merchas Doski Fifa.com.
It’s an ending that the nation, bound by a fervent love of the game, has been yearning for over the past four decades. It was way back in 1986, when Iraq appeared at a World Cup – also in Mexico – for the first and only time.
Save for a remarkable win at the 2007 Asian Cup, Iraqi football has largely been in the doldrums in the intervening 40 years.
Doski is keenly aware of both the magnitude of the clash against Bolivia and just what success would mean to the Iraqi people.
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The first training session for the Iraqi national team in Monterrey, Mexico, in preparation for the Intercontinental play-off for the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Iraq National Football Team -
Iraq players prepare for the winner of Bolivia v Suriname, whom they will play on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico. Photo: Iraq National Football Team -
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold. Photo: Iraq National Football Team -
The Iraqi Football Association had to charter private jets to fly the squad to Mexico due to the travel disruption caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Photo: Iraq National Football Team -
Iraq hope to qualify for a first World Cup finals since 1986. Photo: Iraq National Football Team
“Qualification would change a lot, the country has been through so many things during those years, and you can see the excitement of the people in Iraq, how much it means for them," he said.
“I think the media have built up the wrong picture of Iraq because it is a beautiful country that's building up again. More people are starting to visit the country, and when you go you can see just how warm and generous the Iraqi people are.
“We feel that love from all the Iraqi people and I want to do everything I can to give back to them. Not only for the country but for football, to show that Iraq is back on the biggest stage.
“We know what it means for the country, but for the players too this is a huge opportunity for us to write our names in the history books of Iraq.”
Just being in Monterrey is an achievement in itself for the Iraqi team. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East caused huge travel disruption, with airspace over Iraq closed for a time. Head coach Graham Arnold was grounded in Dubai after Iran started firing missiles on Gulf countries following US-Israeli attacks on Tehran on February 28.
The Iraqi Football Association worked closely with Fifa on the logistics, and eventually, a chartered flight was arranged for Iraqi-based players to travel to Mexico. Those not based in Iraq, which included Doski, who plays his club football in Europe, had to make their own way to Monterrey.
“It’s not been an easy journey for me to get to this point, but of course it’s the dream of every child to go to a World Cup, the biggest stage, where we know the whole world will be watching,” said the 26-year-old Viktoria Plzen midfielder.
“Every young boy who played on the streets like I did has always seen the great players that have played at the World Cup.
“So if I could be one of them standing on that biggest stage, it would be a dream come true for me … I will put on the shirt and do it for all 46 million Iraqis.”
