Iraq manager Graham Arnold insists pressure is all on Saudi Arabia ahead of World Cup clash

Coach backs players to seal 'dream' spot at finals in North America

Iraq coach Graham Arnold has previously led Australia to a World Cup finals. Reuters

Iraq have only played in one World Cup finals, in 1986. If they win their next match then they will be going to the expanded 48-team finals next year.

That crucial next game is against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, a one-off between Iraq, ranked 58th in the world and neighbours Saudi Arabia, 59th. The hosts, managed by French coach Herve Renard, are a regional powerhouse and have played in six of the past eight global finals.

It could not be closer for this Group B game. Iraq are in a great position after Saturday’s 1-0 win against Indonesia, coached by Patrick Kluivert, and with Jordi Cruyff as their technical boss.

Olaroiu urges UAE to dig deep for decisive World Cup qualifier against Qatar

Watch Now

That, too, was played in Jeddah. The game was even, but Indonesia didn’t have forwards to finish their chances and Iraq had Zidane Iqbal. The former Manchester United midfielder who grew up in Manchester, son of an Iraqi mother and a Pakistani father, is thriving at Utrecht in the Eredivisie.

But Iqbal is returning from injury and was introduced at half-time. With 14 minutes left, he hit a brilliant, match-winning goal from outside the box for Graham Arnold’s team, eliminating Indonesia.

Arnold, an Australian, only took charge in May after becoming Australia’s longest-serving coach in a six-year stint up to 2024. Along with his assistant Rene Muelensteen, Arnold was given the formidable task of trying to qualify Iraq for the World Cup finals.

Arnold has plenty of experience and was satisfied as his players held their nerve when tempers flared towards the end.

Indonesia captain Jay Idzes acted as peacemaker after Indonesia fans threw water bottles onto the pitch in anger at the decisions from Chinese referee Ma Ning. Two Indonesia players were sent off as the match drew to a close.

“We knew it would be a tough game with the temperature and everything but this 1-0 victory will give us a lot of confidence,” Iqbal said. “It will be a tough game against Saudi Arabia, but hopefully we will win.”

Iraq have been banned from staging games at home six times since 1980 due to war and security concerns; the last of those bans was in 2019.

Since then, the country has successfully staged the 2023 Arabian Gulf Cup and plays home games at the impressive 65,000-capacity Basra International Stadium, opened in 2009. Yet Iraq are used to being on the road: only three of their 16 games since the start of 2024 have been in their own country.

The current Iraq team – known as the Lions of Mesopotamia – are impressive, a side with a physical edge that likes to play in a 3-2-4-1 system and attack their opponents with two numbers 10s.

Its members are drawn from clubs from the domestic Iraqi league, Saudi Pro League and from secondary global leagues including Sweden and Denmark. Almost all of Saudi Arabia’s players work in their own country.

Iqbal should be fit to start against Saudi Arabia, and the winners of the game will advance to the finals, the losers to another round of preliminaries.

Playing in front of a febrile home crowd will be a tough challenge for Iraq. There were 14,000 in the stadium for Saturday’s win against Indonesia. Closer to 60,000 are expected on Wednesday.

“It’s the dream for the players to go to the World Cup,” said Arnold, who knows what to expect having led Australia to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. “But now all the pressure is on Saudi Arabia. They've had five days [since their last game, a 3-2 win over Indonesia].

“They’re in a hotel thinking about this game and the players will be thinking a lot about that. It’s tough when you have a nation like Saudi Arabia and the pressure that’s put on the players.”