Iraq National Football Team

Latest News

Here's what has been going on in Iraqi football lately...

Iraq to play Argentina in Saudi Friendly Tournament

Iraq will play against giants Argentina for the first time in their history on 11 October in a four-team, two-game friendly competition, with their second match being against the hosts Saudi Arabia four days later. Also participating are Brazil, and the team with the most points after their two games will be crowned the winners.

Iraq's 23-man squad for the tournament is as follows:

GK: Mohammed Hameed, Jalal Hassan, Fahad Talib
DF: Rebin Sulaka, Raad Fenar, Mustafa Mohammed, Ahmed Ibrahim, Ali Adnan, Mustafa Nadhim, Hussam Kadhim, Ali Faez, Alaa Mhawi
MF: Saad Abdul-Amir, Ahmed Yasin, Mahdi Kamil, Amjad Attwan, Osama Rashid, Mazin Fayyadh, Bashar Rasan, Hussein Ali
FW: Justin Meram, Mohammed Dawood, Mohanad Ali

Iraq close to agreeing friendly with Bolivia

The Lions of Mesopotamia are close to agreeing a friendly match with the Bolivia national team on 16 November in preparation for the Asian Cup. It would be the first match ever between the two sides, who have each been crowned continental champions once in their history, and the game would likely be played in the United Arab Emirates.

Iraq draw 2-2 with Kuwait in Katanec's first game

Iraq played out a 2-2 friendly draw away to Kuwait in Srečko Katanec's first game as Iraq manager.

Mohanad Ali opened the scoring with his fourth international goal in six games, but Kuwait equalised through an Alaa Mhawi own goal.

Jalal Hassan prevented Iraq from going behind with a penalty save and Ali Faez gave the visitors the lead with a header.

Kuwait found another equalising goal through a header of their own and the match ended in a stalemate.

Click here to see highlights of the game.

Srecko Katanec appointed new Iraq manager

Srečko Katanec has been appointed as the new manager of the Iraq national team. He most recently coached Slovenia, whom he took to Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002 in his first spell there, but failed to take to the 2018 World Cup recently. The coach has experience in the Middle East having took charge of the UAE for two years, and replaces Iraqi manager Basim Qasim who returns to managing Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.

Iraq drawn with rivals Iran in Asian Cup

Iraq will face Iran, Vietnam and Yemen in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 2007 champions will need to either finish as group winners, group runners-up or one of the four best third-placed teams from the six groups in order to qualify for the Round of 16.

FIFA lifts Iraqi stadium ban for three cities

The FIFA Council decided to lift the ban on Iraq hosting competitive matches in the cities of Basra, Karbala and Erbil and in the meantime will monitor the situation in Baghdad. This means Iraq can now host World Cup qualifiers at home while their clubs can host AFC Cup and Arab Club Champions Cup games.