Australian Graham Arnold, head coach of Iraq, said on Wednesday that his team would give everything at this year's World Cup and relish the opportunity to surprise the world.
Iraq qualified for the World Cup by beating Bolivia 2-1 in Mexico in their inter-confederation playoff on Wednesday, sealing a return to the finals after a 40-year absence.
Aymen Hussein steered home a second-half winner to make the Iraqis the 48th and last team to qualify for the tournament to be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US
Ali Al Hamadi gave Iraq a 10th-minute lead at Monterrey Stadium, but Bolivia were level at the break through Moises Paniagua.
Arnold guided Australia to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and will become the second Australian coach to lead two different teams to the World Cup finals.
“Before we think about facing France, I should say that I faced them before with Australia at the 2022 World Cup. We lost 4-1, but we used that experience as motivation to beat Tunisia and Denmark and reach the round of 16,” Arnold told reporters.
Arnold acknowledged the difficult circumstances facing Iraq amid the conflict in the Middle East.
“Everything that is going on in the Middle East made it a little bit harder,” Arnold said.
“I banned social media since the day we got here,” he added. “I did not want them to think of what is going on in the Middle East because they had to focus on the job we had here.”
Iraq 🆚 Bolivia
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 1, 2026
Iraq return to the #FIFAWorldCup 40 years later. pic.twitter.com/fknt56hTJ1
Arnold said qualifying for the World Cup was a major privilege for the players.
“Iraq has nothing to lose,” he added. “We must go to the World Cup with a winning mentality – that’s the only way to achieve something special. Sharing the pitch with players like (Kylian) Mbappe and (Erling) Haaland is a great honour for our players.
"We respect their abilities, but we will step onto the field to try to surprise the world and showcase Iraqi football on the global stage,” he said.
Iraq are in World Cup group I alongside France, Norway and Senegal.