Mohannad Ali Kadhim looked to the heavens and screamed for joy, while emotion overcame goalkeeper Ahmed Basil Al-Fadhli as he slumped, facedown, to the turf. Coach Graham Arnold was enveloped on the touchline, before being hoisted onto his players shoulders and, Iraq flag held aloft in his hand, presented to the euphoric fans in the stands.
Half a world away, the scenes coming out of Baghdad, out of Basra, Mosul, and Erbil as Iraqis celebrated in the early morning sun, were just as striking — videos posted social media showing fans gathered anywhere able to fit a screen large enough to host a crowd placed into raptures as Ali Ibrahim Al-Hamadi and Aymen Hussein netted in a 2-1, history making intercontinental playoff win over Bolivia. For the first time in 40 years, and just the second time in their history, the Lions of Mesopotamia have secured a place at the FIFA World Cup.
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It wasn’t all that long ago that destiny looked like it had been ripped from their hands through no fault of their own. Israel and the United States’ attack on Iran kick-started a chain reaction that saw missiles flying across the Middle East, with those on the ground at risk of getting caught in the crossfire and flights grounded as airspace across the region was closed. Arnold, who took over for the sacked Jesús Casas last year, was stranded first in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and then in Dubai, while the members of his squad based in Iraq and its neighbours faced a similar predicament. Embassies were also shuttered, preventing would-be members of the travelling party from securing the visas they would need to enter Mexico, even if they were able to find a flight out.
There were rumours that Iraq could replace Iran at the World Cup should they withdraw, only for that to be quickly doused. Then there was talk of a day-long overland journey to Istanbul, where flights could be arranged to get the squad to Mexico. But Arnold preferred postponement, appealing to FIFA for his side’s clash with the winner of Bolivia and Suriname’s playoff to be staged at a later date. No adjournment, however, was forthcoming, with arrangements instead made for a (relatively) shorter trek to Amman in Jordan to be made, where a private jet would be waiting to deliver them to the playoffs. Twenty hours of flying was then required, with the entire journey taking the team more than three days.
It was hardly the ideal preparation. And there were more mundane, footballing-related challenges to be overcome, too, with veteran goalkeeper Jalal Hassan Hachim and defender Ahmed Yahya not passed as fit to be included in the squad, while key figures such as Al-Hamadi, Youssef Amyn and Zidane Iqbal arrived with a dearth of recent football. But Iraq found a way.
It’s a triumph for the players. A triumph for a football-mad Iraq. But, especially for those watching on from his native Australia, it was also a triumph for Arnold. Having already left an indelible mark Down Under, he’s now set to become first Australian to ever lead two counties to a World Cup and he and his staff, featuring the likes of former Manchester United coach René Meulensteen, Rob Stanton, Zeljko Kalac, Chris Pappas, Adam Barbera, and interpreter Ali Abbas, have become heroes to 46 million people.
“In the 10 months since I’ve been in the job, I reckon seven of them I’ve been in Baghdad because I wanted to get to know the culture,” Arnold said ahead of the fixture. “I can’t go anywhere and have no social life because wherever I go I get mobbed — everyone wants photos and they just run towards you.
“I saw footage of the scenes in Baghdad [after booking a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs] where they’re all marching the streets and waving the flag and celebrating. The emotion of that win was huge and after the game was over, I had to say that we haven’t qualified yet. These players are so passionate to do it for their country.”
With the way that everything has played out, Iraq probably couldn’t have had a coach better suited to the task at hand in the dugout, either. For one thing — and while it can certainly work against him at times, such as when his tenure with Australia petered out — there are few coaches in world football better suited towards creating a close-knit, siege mentality around a squad than Arnold. Under the 62-year-old, doubt, criticism, and misfortune is turned into fuel and an us-against-the-world mindset. Further, the tale of the Lions of Mesopotamia’s journey to North America is unique, the Australian coach had lived a journey that rhymes.
Across the past month, Iraq’s players have been put through the ringer. But although Arnold doesn’t have a lot of experience when it comes to navigating an active warzone, four years ago, he was in charge of a group that had to handle one of the most logistically challenging qualification campaigns in history. During that period he not only had to deal with the vast distances of Asia and navigating an inter-confederation playoff, but also a home nation that implemented some of the strictest border control and quarantine regulations in the world. In other words, Arnold is used to things going wrong.
By defeating Bolivia, Iraq finally brought to an end an 867-day qualifying odyssey as the final team to punch their tickets to the World Cup. The last nation that booked its place four years earlier? That would be Socceroos side that Arnold guided to Qatar. Australia needed to defeat a South American nation in that playoff, too, downing Peru to punch their tickets in a dramatic penalty shootout. Further, in playing their 21st game of qualification in Monterrey, the Iraqis overtook Indonesia as the busiest nation in qualification for the World Cup. The only nation to have played more games in a single campaign? The Socceroos unit under Arnold four years ago.
And Arnold’s experiences seems to have been well and truly come to the fore in guiding Iraq to the World Cup. He’s spoken of trying to serve as a “father figure” to his players during this testing time, as well as trying to get them off social media, which he calls “crap” and focused on a close-knit circle of family and friends. The coach has attempted to do what he can to get their thoughts off the unfolding situation back home and instead on harnessing the pride of making history for Iraq, as well as proving its football-obsessed populace with a nation-defining moment. He has spoken with confidence about what has proven to be a “very special night for Iraq.” It’s all straight out of a coaching playbook honed for two decades across Australia.
The Lions of Mesopotamia will now move into Group I for the World Cup, placed alongside France, Senegal and Norway. It will represent a reunion between Arnold and Didier Deschamps — France thumped Australia in the opening game of the 2022 tournament, only for the Socceroos to bounce back and reach the round of 16. Similarly low expectations will greet Iraq in 2026. But after overcoming the odds to even make the World Cup, Arnold probably wouldn’t have it any other way.
