Ali Al Hamadi is a trailblazer. The 24-year-old grew up in Liverpool and became the first Iraqi player to feature in the English Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Ipswich Town against his hometown club on August 17, 2024.
Ipswich were relegated at the end of that campaign. Al Hamadi spent a period on loan at Championship rivals Stoke City and the 2025/26 season on loan at third-tier Luton Town. He struggled for game time and goals at Kenilworth Road, scoring just once for the Hatters.
But while he may have struggled for impact at club level, Al Hamadi has become the beating heart for his national team. He has been one of the most important players in Iraq's historic qualification for the 2026 World Cup, ending a 40-year wait for a nation starved of success at the highest level.
It was Al Hamadi who struck the opening goal against Bolivia in the decisive intercontinental play-off as Iraq won 2-1 at Monterrey Stadium, Mexico, securing the final place at the expanded 48-team World Cup.
That victory prompted wild celebrations across Iraq, where anticipation is building for the country’s return to football’s biggest stage.
Under coach Graham Arnold, Iraq battled through the gruelling Asian Football Confederation qualification campaign, navigating logistical challenges, political obstacles and the weight of an entire nation's expectations before booking their place in the tournament.
Now they face France, Norway and Senegal in Group I, seen as the group of death, though as Al Hamadi explains to The National, he and his teammates prefer a different description entirely.
Before preparations for the World Cup begins, Al Hamadi and his teammates enjoyed a short break in Qatar. He spoke to The National via Zoom to discuss that history-making goal, the unity inside the dressing room, what Arnold means to this team and what Iraq are genuinely capable of this summer.
How does it feel to be going to the World Cup?
It's honestly just a dream come true. There are no real words to describe it. It still really probably hasn't set in because I think that until I get there and play the first game, hear the national anthem and kind of take it all in, that's when it'll probably kick in.
How crucial do you think Graham Arnold has been to your journey and in progressing Iraq to the World Cup?
He's changed a lot. I think the biggest thing he's changed for us is the belief. Of course, every coach comes with their own kind of tactics and their own way of playing and their own ideas.
But I think the greatest thing about Graham is just the man management, the way he instils belief into the players, into the squad, into the staff, the togetherness we've shown.
That's kind of what has set him apart from maybe previous managers, just how much belief he has in the players and how good he is to us. He's been amazing for Iraqi football and he'll go down as a legend forever.
One of the unique aspects of this Iraq team is how it brings together players from different communities, Kurds, Arabs, Chaldeans and Assyrians. How does that feel inside the dressing room? Do those identities come up, do you ever talk politics, or is it simply about representing Iraq?
No, honestly, we're just a group of young, medium and old men who are all playing for the love of football and for the love of the country. I've not felt, since I've been involved with the national team, any division, to be honest.
Every single time I've been involved, it's always been togetherness. The boys who step on to that pitch all just want to do well for each other. But I think this is definitely probably the most together it's ever been, and that's credit to the staff, that's credit to Adnan Dirjal [former president of the Iraqi FA] as well for his work behind the scenes, recruiting players, the organisation.
I think Iraqi football has come a long way in the past couple of years and it's just getting better. It's a collective effort from everyone. What this qualification has shown us is that football, we all know, can unite people and can break boundaries.
You can see, after the game celebrations, we have people from all religious beliefs, from all sorts of backgrounds, all just fighting for the love of Iraq and that's what it should be.
Iraq beat Bolivia to qualify – in pictures
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Iraq players celebrate after beating Bolivia 2-1 in their inter-confederation play-off final in Monterrey, Mexico to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup. Reuters -
Iraq's Aymen Hussein celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates. Reuters -
Iraq's Australian coach Graham Arnold celebrates with his players after securing the 48th and final place at the 2026 World Cup. AFP -
Bolivia's Moises Paniagua celebrates scoring their equaliser. Reuters -
Iraqi fans celebrate at the BBVA Stadium in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico. AFP -
Iraq's Ali Al Hamadi, who opened the scoring in the first hald, celebrates with teammates. Reuters -
Iraq's Zaid Tahseen celebrates after the match. Reuters -
Bolivia's Fernando Nava, bottom, in action with Iraq's Zaid Ismail. Reuters -
Bolivia's Miguelito evades Iraq's defence. Reuters -
Iraq's Ali Al Hamadi, centre, in action against Bolivia's Efrain Morales. AFP -
Bolivia goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra looks dejected at the final whistle. AFP -
Iraqi fans cheer their team on during the 2026 Fifa World Cup Intercontinental play-off in Mexico. EPA -
A Bolivia fan watches on. Reuters -
Ali Al Hamadi opened the scoring with a first-half header. AFP -
Aymen Hussein, centre, scored what proved to be the winner and the goal that sent Iraq to a first World Cup since 1986. AFP
Iraq were the final nation to qualify for the tournament, and the journey was far from straightforward. Do you think all those hurdles actually united the group even more?
I think it's in our kind of nature as Iraqi people that nothing's ever easy, is it? We are built on hardship, on discipline and grit. We're kind of used to this.
Maybe other nations with different cultures and environments that people have grown up in would have had a different effect. But I think it galvanised us and we thrive in that sort of environment. We don't shy away, we don't hide, we don't make excuses, we just get on with it.
That's what the people of Iraq have always done and that's kind of what we've done, not just on the day of the game, but leading up to it. It was just, let's go, let's give it our all. We don't want to make any excuses. We just need to go out in this game now.
Describe that night for me. You scored the opening goal. What was going through your head?
There was utmost belief from November, from those games with the Emirates, all the way up until the Mexico trip and the game against Bolivia. We all had the utmost belief that we could qualify and that we will qualify. The night was special. Of course, it was such an amazing moment for me.
That first goal was just a spark; it was kind of there to spark the belief. The nation had just woken up from sleep and people were watching the game at 4 or 5am.
So getting that goal really early on in the game sparked a belief and brought life into everybody who was watching, everybody in the stadium, and just made us believe that the dream was alive and that we could go out and win this game.
No one can ever take that moment away from me, and of course, not just me. On the pitch, a striker who scores a goal will always get a bit more attention; that's just the nature of football.
But it was such an immense effort from everybody, from the goalkeeper to the defenders and midfielders, all the staff that were with us. It was such a big effort from everyone. The celebrations after, I'll never forget that night.
You're in arguably the most difficult group at the tournament. France, Norway and Senegal. How is the team feeling about your chances?
We're not naive. We know the difficulty of the group, we know the nations we're up against, we know the world-class ability and stature and experience of all these players in playing at big tournaments. That's the World Cup, that's what we're up against and that's what we've always dreamt of.
I don't see it as something to be afraid of or to back down from. It actually just gives you even more motivation and more of a push to try to test yourself against these players.
The coach said something quite cool recently in an interview. He said it's the 'Group of Death', but we need to reframe it as the group of opportunity.
If you can go and put on a great performance and give people moments to remember, you never know in tournament football. Anything can happen. Upsets can happen.
We know what type of players we are. We know that we'll make it difficult for any team. We're physical, we're not easy to play against, we're defensively organised. I think that will put us in good stead.
Iraq celebrate World Cup qualification – in pictures
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Iraqi players greet fans during a public reception in Baghdad after qualifying for the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1986. Reuters -
Members of Iraq's team sit atop an open-top bus as they greet fans along the Jadriya area of central Baghdad. AFP -
Iraqi players celebrate with fans in Baghdad after qualifying for the Fifa World Cup. AFP -
Fans greet the Iraqi national team in central Baghdad. AFP -
Iraq qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. AFP -
Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1 in in Mexico to qualify for the World Cup. AFP
We know it's a difficult group. We're not overestimating or getting ahead of ourselves. We're just going to take it one game at a time, prepare for each game as well as we can. And I know that's a proper diplomatic answer, but it's the truth.
On the day, it's football, anything can happen. We just have to turn up with the best version of ourselves and see where that leaves us.
The opening group game is against Norway. Is this the best chance you have of coming away with three points?
Everyone keeps saying Norway's the game where you can pick up points, and I get that; that's the way it goes before the World Cup. You look at a group and on paper you see this team, that team, whatever. But on the day, it's completely different.
You could go up against Norway and they could be the best version of themselves and absolutely dominate. Then you could play against a team that, on paper, looks a lot better but they have an off day, and maybe that's the team you end up beating.
Talking about results honestly doesn't interest me, or probably the staff either. The result just takes care of itself. We just take care of the process, the preparation, the training, the meetings, the food and all that sort of stuff, and the result will take care of itself.
Testing ourselves against the best players is going to be a great moment for all of us. Playing against players who they probably grew up watching and seeing on TV is going to be a great experience for everyone.
Is France the game you're most personally excited for?
I'm excited for all of them. They're all exciting, they're all going to be unique. There's so much talent on show with every nation, even ourselves; we've got a really talented squad.
Of course, [Kylian] Mbappe is probably the one, in my youth days growing up over the past five or six years, that I really enjoyed watching. He can light up a game; he's so dynamic and so skilful. I'd say he's probably the player I'm most excited to see on the pitch.
But you've also got Ballon d'Or winners, you've got [Ousmane] Dembele, that squad is so talented. And you've got [Sadio] Mane as well. I grew up in Liverpool and Mane is one of my favourite players. So many wonderful players on show, it's going to be a real great opportunity for us.
Finally, this is a record year with eight nations from the Arab world qualifying for an expanded World Cup. How do you think Arab football will fare?
It's great for Arab people to see so many nations be involved in the World Cup and we have some great players, really talented players across the Middle East, across the Arab world.
I don't want to say it's all political because it's not, right? At the end of the day, the countries we're up against have great histories in football, they have great infrastructure, and there's a reason why the same nations dominate world football over the past decades. They have things from the roots that allow them to be successful.
But I think what the Arab world has shown over the past couple of years is that we have good players, we have something to show, and we're here and we want to show the world what we're all about. It's a great source of pride for all the Arab nations, not just us, to be involved and to show the world what we're about.
I keep saying, there are some really, really talented players across the Arab world, and sometimes, maybe due to lack of opportunity, lack of infrastructure, lack of geographical location, some of these players don't get to the heights that they need or deserve to get to. The World Cup is always an amazing stage for stories to develop and for magical things to happen. It's really exciting.
