‘We are fighters’: Iraq aim to shock rivals at 2026 World Cup

Coach Graham Arnold and two key players speak to Al Jazeera ahead of Iraq’s first World Cup appearance since 1986.

Twenty hours on a bus, a charter plane out of the Middle East, and a one-off game carrying the expectations of 48 million people: Iraq’s journey to the 2026 World Cup was not for the faint-hearted.

The Lions of Mesopotamia were the final country to secure their spot at this summer’s tournament, after a gruelling qualification campaign that saw them play 21 matches over the space of more than two years.

If that process wasn’t difficult enough, the team then had to undertake a mammoth journey to Mexico for their intercontinental playoff final, after the US-Israel attacks on Iran caused travel chaos in the Middle East.

Many of the players made an overland trip from Iraq to Jordan before waiting 24 hours to board a delayed flight out of the region.

“By the time they got to Mexico, I had to give them three days off to recover from the whole trip,” Iraq coach Graham Arnold told Al Jazeera.

“It was a tough trip. But I said to them, ‘Don’t use it as an excuse’.”

His players were certainly listening. Iraq shut out all of the distractions to defeat Bolivia 2-1 in Monterrey and secure World Cup qualification for the first time since 1986. The first goal scorer on that famous March night was Ali Al-Hamadi, a 24-year-old forward who has spent the season on loan at English side Luton Town.

He first arrived in the United Kingdom at age one after his father was released from prison in Iraq after being jailed for protesting against Saddam Hussein. His family fled shortly after the US invasion in 2003, settling in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. Despite the distance from home, they brought a slice of Iraqi culture to the northwest of England.

“We spoke the language in the household growing up, and still ate the same food, listened to the same songs. We had Iraqi TV, a separate thing to get the channels back home,” Al-Hamadi told Al Jazeera.

That connection to his native country was evident as he roared in celebration after scoring from a corner to set Iraq on their way against Bolivia.

“I’m super grateful to have that moment, and I’ll take that with me for the rest of my life,” Al-Hamadi said.

It’s a moment that Iraqi fans have waited 40 years for. Decades of conflict, sanctions and political instability have tamed the Lions as a footballing force, with the national team largely playing their home games abroad.

A rare positive moment came in 2007, when Iraq lifted the Asian Cup after beating Saudi Arabia in the final. But a place on the world’s bi