It is one of the most remarkable stories that Asian football currently has to tell: Iraq, the "Lions of Mesopotamia," has actually found its way back to the big World Cup stage after 40 years of absence. At the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the team returned to a final tournament for the first time since its only World Cup appearance in 1986 in Mexico. Back then, Iraq lost all three group matches narrowly. Now attention is already turning to the next challenge – and the question of whether the team can also reach the 2030 World Cup.
An important part of the recent development was Jesús Casas. The Spaniard took office in November 2022 and led Iraq to victory in the Gulf Cup in January 2023 in Basra. In the final, the team prevailed 3:2 after extra time against Oman. At the 2023 Asian Cup, which was held in January 2024 in Qatar, Iraq also impressed initially and won its group with three wins from three matches. However, the quarterfinals saw elimination against Jordan. Casas's tenure ended in March 2025 when Iraq came under pressure in the fight for 2026 World Cup qualification. More information about the participants and format of the Asian qualifying tournament can be found in our overview of World Cup qualifying Asia.
Meanwhile, Graham Arnold is now on the sideline. The Australian took over in May 2025 and led Iraq through a long qualifying path to the 2026 World Cup. After missing out on a direct spot, it went through additional AFC playoffs to the intercontinental playoff tournament. There, Iraq defeated Bolivia 2:1 and secured the World Cup ticket as the 48th and final team. Thus, the 40-year wait actually came to an end – and Aymen Hussein became one of the key figures in this qualification with his goal to make it 2:1 against Bolivia.
At the center of the attack is Aymen Hussein. The striker, born in 1996, has long been one of the faces of Iraqi football. At the 2023 Asian Cup, he scored two goals against Vietnam after coming on as a substitute, playing a crucial role in the 3:2 victory. The win secured Iraq first place in the group with a perfect return of nine points. Hussein was also one of the decisive players in the 2026 World Cup qualifying: In the intercontinental playoff against Bolivia, he scored Iraq's second goal and made the historic return to the World Cup perfect.
Alongside Hussein, there are now other important players in the squad. These include midfielder Amir Al Ammari and the offensive Ali Jasim. Zidane Iqbal, who was trained in Manchester United's youth academy, is also part of the younger generation. Experienced Ali Adnan was part of the Iraqi squad at the 2023 Asian Cup, but no longer plays a central role for the current World Cup generation.
The framework for the 2030 World Cup remains fundamentally interesting for Iraq. The tournament will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco; additionally, three anniversary matches will be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. All six countries are automatically qualified. FIFA has already implemented the 48-team format for the 2026 World Cup. For 2026, the AFC had eight direct spots plus one place in the intercontinental playoff tournament. Whether the distribution of spots and the specific qualifying format for 2030 remain exactly unchanged should only be presented as fact after official confirmation by FIFA and the AFC.
For Iraq, this means: After the successful return in 2026, another World Cup participation is by no means excluded. At the same time, competition in Asia remains enormous. Japan, South Korea, Iran, Australia and Saudi Arabia traditionally rank among the strongest nations on the continent. There are also teams like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Jordan, which have also shown in recent qualifying cycles that they can compete for World Cup tickets.
Initial indications of the team's form and the path to the next final tournament will come once FIFA and the AFC determine the qualifying format for 2030. The exact matchups and dates can be found continually updated in the World Cup qualifying schedule.
A fun fact to conclude: At Iraq's only World Cup appearance before 2026, the team lost all three group matches in 1986 in Mexico by just one goal each – 0:1 against Paraguay, 1:2 against Belgium and 0:1 against host Mexico. Iraq's only World Cup goal in that first World Cup era came from Ahmed Radhi in the match against Belgium. In 2026, Aymen Hussein continued the story: His goal against Bolivia made Iraq a World Cup participant and ended the 40-year wait. Should Hussein still be there in 2030, he could ultimately shape Iraqi World Cup history.