Iraq ends 40-year World Cup absence to secure spot at 2026 tournament

Monterrey: The Iraqi national football team has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, set to take place this summer across the United States, Canada and Mexico, ending a 40-year absence from the global stage.

Iraq secured its return to football’s most prestigious tournament with a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Bolivia in the final of the intercontinental play-off, held in the Mexican city of Monterrey.

The Lions of Mesopotamia struck early through Ali Al-Hamadi in the tenth minute. Bolivia responded before the interval, with Moisés Paniagua leveling the score in the 38th minute—his second consecutive match finding the back of the net. The second half delivered no respite, as Ayman Hussein restored Iraq’s lead in the 53rd minute, a strike that ultimately sealed qualification and completed the lineup for the expanded 48-team World Cup.

The triumph marks Iraq’s second appearance in the tournament’s history, their sole previous outing coming at the 1986 edition—also hosted by Mexico—which similarly witnessed the Arab side grace football’s grandest stage.

Iraq’s achievement sets a new benchmark for Arab representation at the World Cup. They become the eighth Arab nation to qualify for the 2026 tournament, joining Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

Drawn into a daunting Group Nine alongside France, Senegal, and Norway, Iraq now face a formidable challenge as they seek to advance beyond the group stage for the first time in their history.

Their road to the North American showpiece saw them finish third in Group Two of the Asian third qualifying round behind South Korea and Jordan, and ahead of the Sultanate of Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait—a result that propelled them into the Asian play-off.

There, they finished second in their group behind Saudi Arabia, who secured direct qualification, setting up a two-legged tie against the United Arab Emirates for a place in the intercontinental play-off. A 1–1 draw away from home in the first leg was followed by a 2–1 victory on home soil last November, sending Iraq through to the decisive final round where they ultimately prevailed against Bolivia to end four decades of waiting.