World Cup Preview: #45 Iraq
Previewing Iraq's chances at the World Cup
Continuing on with previewing each of the 48 teams in the World Cup today, we are taking a deeper look at Iraq
This is the first time since 1986 they have qualified for the World Cup, and they took the longest route to do it.
For those who do not know, I have my own International Ratings, which I have built over the years, and you can find them here.
At the end of this series, I will post my final rankings before the World Cup begins. In addition, I will be simulating the World Cup, which will likely be released the week before the tournament starts.
I will go in reverse order of my rankings, starting with my lowest-rated team and working up to my top-ranked team.
This will simply be a breakdown of each team. I will save my analysis for how they match up with each team for my group previews, which will come out a little closer to the week of the World Cup.
In case you missed it, check out my previous previews:
How did they get here?
Asian World Cup qualifying consists of essentially five rounds.
Iraq cruised through a pretty easy second-round group, winning all six of their matches against pretty bad competition.
Second Round Qualifying
They were placed in Group B for the third round of qualifying, which included some decent teams. They narrowly missed out on automatically qualifying, finishing one point behind Jordan.
Third Round Qualifying
They beat Indonesia 1-0 to kick off the fourth round of qualifying, then drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia. Since Saudi Arabia beat them on the third tiebreaker of most goals scored.
Fourth Round Qualifying
The fifth and final round of Asian Qualifying was a two-leg playoff between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. It took extra time, but Iraq eventually got through 3-2 on aggregate to move onto the Inter-Confederation play-offs.
Fifth Round Qualifying
Iraq faced off against Bolivia in Guadeloupe, Mexico, edging them out 2-1 to reach the World Cup
Inter-Confederation play-offs
Iraq Stats
All data is from footystats.org
Iraq is certainly an interesting team based on the data. When you look at their underlying numbers, it really isn’t that impressive, but they do have a couple of good results.
They beat Japan at the Asian Cup in 2024 and beat Jordan on the final day of the third round of World Cup qualifying.
Offensively, they are a little limited. They dominated in the second round of qualifying, but from the third round onward, they averaged only 0.97 xG per 90 minutes.
In their 21 World Cup qualifying matches, Iraq did not rank very highly in many offensive categories.
All data is from FotMob
Defensively, Iraq was solid throughout World Cup qualifying. Their matches were typically very low-event because of their style of play.
They don’t rank highly in terms of interceptions, duel win rate, or winning possession in the opponent’s final third.
However, they only allowed 0.99 xG per 90 minutes in World Cup qualifying, which shows they are a decent low-block defending team.
Iraq Key Players
All data is from transfermarkt.com
Note: This is the projected roster, not the official one.
Iraq certainly has some interesting, young, talented players, but most of them haven’t been playing much at the club level.
There are two journeymen in the Iraq squad who will be key for them at the World Cup.
Amir Al Ammari played more than any other player during World Cup qualifying and is the engine in the middle of the pitch.
He had two goals and three assists during qualifying and is currently playing for Cracovia in Poland.
Ayman Hussein is the main man at striker in Iraq. He scored six goals at the 2024 Asian Cup and led the team with nine goals during World Cup qualifying.
He’s won the golden boot twice in the Iraqi Stars League, but has never played outside of the Middle East.
Iraq Tactics
Former Australian National Team coach Graham Arnold has been leading Iraq for the last calendar year.
Arnold is old school. He loves to put a big emphasis on defensive solidity, playing a very compact defensive block.
You can see here, against Indonesia, just how compact they are, sitting in their usual 4-4-2.
Iraq only held on average 47% possession during World Cup qualifying and primarily relies on counterattacks and set pieces to create most of its chances.
They scored six goals from set pieces in qualifying, and their counterattack can be effective if they can break out of their defensive block.
Arnold tends to venture more towards the direct play right through the middle of the opposition.
There have been times when he’s even switched Iraq into a 4-2-2-2 formation to really try to hit the opposition right through the heart of their defense.
Iraq, though, doesn’t typically win a high number of duels, so in a group with Norway, France, and Senegal, they are likely going to be in over their heads.