Iraq IRQ

Nobody earned their place at the 2026 World Cup the hard way quite like Iraq. The AFC side, ranked 57th in the world, played 21 qualifying matches — more than any other nation on earth — before finally booking their ticket to the tournament. Under the guidance of manager Graham Arnold, they arrive not as passengers, but as a team with a point to prove.

Arnold himself has set the tone for how Iraq will approach the group stage, and his message is clear: the pressure sits squarely on the other three teams, not his. Iraq have nothing to lose, and that freedom can be a dangerous thing in knockout football. It is a mindset that could make them a genuinely awkward proposition for more fancied opponents.

The challenge, however, is a real one. Iraq are not exactly free-scoring, and their group presents three tough defensive units to break down. Finding the net consistently enough to compete will be the defining test of Arnold's squad and his tactical approach across those three matches.

The players tasked with meeting that challenge include a varied and experienced group: Fahad Talib, Rebin Sulaka, Manaf Younis, Ibrahim Bayesh, Ali Al-Hamadi, Jalal Hassan, Zidane Iqbal, Amir Al-Ammari, Ali Jassim, Aymen Hussein, Kevin Yakob, Marko Farji, Merchas Doski, and Mustafa Saadoon. Within that squad lies the quality to cause problems — whether they can do so consistently enough is the question the tournament will answer.