On 25 May 2007,Jorvan Vieira was appointed as head coach. Under him, Iraq reached the final of the2007 WAFF Championship and won the2007 AFC Asian Cup. Vieira resigned after the Asian Cup.[1]
Jorvan Vieira was reappointed in September 2008. After a disappointing2009 Arabian Gulf Cup, Vieira was sacked.
Egil Olsen was appointed as coach on 17 September 2007.[2] Under him, Iraq advanced to thethird round of the2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, but after a 1–1 draw with China, the FA sacked Olsen and replaced him withAdnan Hamad.[3]
Hamad was appointed on 27 February 2008 to lead Iraq in the remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Iraq failed to advance to the final round as a 1–0 defeat toQatar saw them finish in third in the group. Following this, the Iraq FA disbanded the team and sacked Hamad.[4]
Under Bora, Iraq participated in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which they qualified for by winning the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. They started the tournament with a 0–0 draw with hostsSouth Africa, before losing toUEFA Euro 2008 winnersSpain by one goal to nil. Iraq drew the last game 0–0 withNew Zealand and were knocked out.
Nadhim Shaker was appointed as caretaker coach between July and November 2009 and won the2009 UAE International Cup.
Wolfgang Sidka was appointed coach in August 2010 to lead Iraq in the2011 AFC Asian Cup.[5] Iraq reached the quarter finals, as they lost 1–0 to Australia. In the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Iraq advanced to thethird round but Sidka's contract was not renewed and he was succeeded byZico in August 2011.
Zico signed a contract withIraq Football Federation on 28 August 2011 and first managed the national team in a match against Jordan on 2 September 2011. He won the group in thethird round thus advancing to the final round.
Zico resigned as coach of the Iraqi national team on 27 November 2012 after little more than a year in the post, saying the country's football association had failed to fulfill the terms of his contract. He had 10 wins and six draws in 21 games with Iraq.[6]
Hakeem Shaker took over as interim coach and lost the finals of both the2012 WAFF Championship and2013 Arabian Gulf Cup. He was reappointed in September 2013 and qualified for the2015 AFC Asian Cup by beating China 3–1. However, Iraq finished bottom of the group in the2014 Arabian Gulf Cup leading to the sacking ofHakeem Shaker and the appointment ofRadhi Shenaishil.
In February 2013,Vladimir Petrovic was appointed for the remaining World Cup qualifiers, but lost all three matches and Iraq finished bottom of their group. Petrovic was sacked in September 2013.[7]
On 13 December 2014, Radhi Shenaishil was appointed as coach to lead Iraq in the2015 AFC Asian Cup. Under Radhi, Iraq defeated Iran in the quarter-finals in penalties and finished the2015 AFC Asian Cup in fourth place, after losing 2–3 toUnited Arab Emirates in third/fourth place play-off. After the tournament, Shenaishil returned to managingQatar SC.
On 20 April 2016,Radhi Shenaishil was re-appointed to lead Iraq in the final round. After losing five of their first seven games, Iraq were eliminated and Shenaishil was sacked.[8]
Iraq appointedAkram Salman as manager but he was sacked in June 2015 after losing 4–0 to Japan in a friendly match.
Yahya Alwan was appointed in August 2015. Due to poor performances,Abdul-Ghani Shahad replaced him as interim coach for the final qualifier in March 2016.
Abdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as caretaker coach and led Iraq to qualification for the2019 AFC Asian Cup and thefinal round by beatingVietnam 3–2.
Basim Qasim was appointed in May 2017 to lead Iraq for the remaining qualifiers. He led Iraq to the semifinals of the23rd Arabian Gulf Cup. The FA decided not to renew his contract in August 2018.
On 3 September 2018,Srečko Katanec was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract.[9] Under Katanec, Iraq reached the round of 16 of the2019 AFC Asian Cup as they lost to eventual championsQatar by one goal.[10]
In August 2019, Iraq finished as runners-up of the2019 WAFF Championship. He also led Iraq to the semifinals of the24th Arabian Gulf Cup.
On 16 June 2021, it was rumoured that the Iraqi FA and Katanec are having collision after the former's failure to pay salary for the manager and it was hinted that Katanec might leave the Iraqi team.[11] He ended up resigning less than a week later.
On 1 August 2021,Dick Advocaat was unveiled as the Iraq manager ahead of the third round ofWorld Cup 2022 qualifiers. However, after 6 qualifiers with 4 draws and 2 losses, Advocaat, along with assistant managerCor Pot resigned on 21 November 2021 ahead of the2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
On 21 November 2021, it was announced thatŽeljko Petrović, one of three assistants Advocaat had during his tenure, stayed on to become the caretaker manager which would last until the end of the Arab Cup, withRahim Hameed, Advocaat's third assistant, to stay on as assistant manager. Despite crashing out of the group stages, he was given a permanent role, but Hameed was sacked. A win, a draw and a loss later, and Petrović was sacked on 2 February 2022.
Abdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as caretaker manager of the national team for the second time, beatingZambia in a friendly inBaghdad, then taking on theUAE and beating them 1-0 but drawing againstSyria. Despite being unbeaten in these three matches, Iraq failed to finish third and advance to the fourth round of qualifiers and theFA decided not to give Shahad the job full time.
While the FA's search for a new manager was ongoing, newly appointedolympic team managerRadhi Shenaishil was made in charge of the national team for the2022 Jordan International Tournament in September 2022, and then later was in charge of friendly games againstMexico andEcuador.
On 5 November 2022, the FA confirmed thatJesús Casas would take charge of the national team for four years on an annual payment of $1m split into monthly wages. Radhi Shenaishil would lead the national team for theMexico andEcuador games inSpain, while he would take charge of the games againstCosta Rica andVenezuela inIraq, with his first came coming on 17 November 2022. Those two games were cancelled, so the national team played an intra-squad friendly under Casas’ view. His first official match came on 30 December 2022 againstKuwait at theAl-Minaa Olympic Stadium as a warm up game for the25th Arabian Gulf Cup inBasra, then managed his first competitive match againstOman on 6 January 2023 at the aforementioned tournament.
On 15 April 2025, following Iraq's defeat toPalestine in the third round of2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,[12][13] Casas was relieved of his duties as head coach.[14]
The team has had 41 different coaches, of whom 21 have been fromIraq.[15][16]
| Managers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | From | To | Tenure | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | Major Tournaments and Regional Achievements |
 Cornel Drăgușin[17] | 1962 | 1963 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 033.33 | ||
 Adil Basher | June 1963 | November 1964 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 066.67 | 1964 Arab Nations Cup -Champions | |
| Shawqi Aboud | July 1965 | September 1965 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 000.00 | ||
| Adil Basher | March 1966 | April 1966 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 083.33 | 1966 Arab Nations Cup -Champions | |
| Jalil Shihab | March 1967 | March 1967 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | ||
 Ljubomir Kokeza | March 1969 | March 1969 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.00 | ||
 Yuri Illichev | November 1969 | July 1971 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 025.00 | ||
| Adil Basher | September 1971 | January 1972 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 075.00 | ||
| Abdelilah Hassan | May 1972 | May 1972 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 000.00 | ||
 Teleki Gyula | February 1973 | March 1973 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 050.00 | ||
| Thamir Muhsin | August 1973 | August 1973 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 000.00 | ||
| Wathiq Naji | February 1974 | June 1974 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 000.00 | ||
| Thamir Muhsin | August 1974 | September 1974 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 050.00 | ||
| Wathiq Naji | January 1975 | January 1975 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | ||
 Danny McLennan | April 1975 | April 1976 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 061.11 | ||
| Lenko Grčić "Kaka" | June 1976 | January 1977 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 016.67 | 1976 AFC Asian Cup - Fourth place | |
| Jamal Salih | July 1977 | July 1977 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 042.86 | ||
| Lenko Grčić "Kaka" | August 1977 | July 1978 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 053.33 | ||
| Ammo Baba | December 1978 | February 1980 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 075.00 | 5th Arabian Gulf Cup -Champions | |
| Wathiq Naji | February 1980 | March 1980 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam | June 1980 | July 1980 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | ||
| Vojo Gardašević | February 1981 | March 1981 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 066.67 | ||
| Douglas Aziz | March 1981 | March 1981 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba | August 1981 | August 1984 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 060.87 | 1982 Asian Games -Champions 7th Arabian Gulf Cup -Champions | |
| Akram Salman | October 1984 | June 1985 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 075.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam | July 1985 | August 1985 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 075.00 | 1985 Arab Nations Cup -Champions 1985 Pan Arab Games -Champions | |
| Wathiq Naji | September 1985 | September 1985 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | ||
 Jorge Vieira | October 1985 | November 1985 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | 1986 FIFA World Cup - Qualification | |
| Edu | February 1986 | March 1986 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 | ||
| Zé Mário | March 1986 | April 1986 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 016.67 | ||
| Evaristo de Macedo | May 1986 | June 1986 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 000.00 | 1986 FIFA World Cup - Group stage | |
| Akram Salman | July 1986 | October 1986 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 060.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba | February 1987 | June 1988 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 057.14 | 9th Arabian Gulf Cup -Champions | |
| Jamal Salih | July 1988 | July 1988 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 000.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba | July 1988 | January 1989 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 033.33 | 1988 Arab Nations Cup -Champions | |
| Jamal Salih | January 1989 | October 1989 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.67 | ||
| Anwar Jassam | October 1989 | March 1990 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 040.00 | ||
 Adnan Dirjal | August 1992 | October 1993 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 054.55 | ||
| Ammo Baba | October 1993 | October 1993 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 025.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam | March 1995 | July 1995 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.67 | ||
| Ammo Baba | August 1996 | August 1996 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Yahya Alwan | November 1996 | June 1997 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 063.64 | ||
| Ayoub Odisho | June 1997 | June 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba | August 1997 | August 1997 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Akram Salman | November 1998 | November 1998 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Najih Humoud | June 1999 | November 1999 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 061.54 | ||
| Adnan Hamad | January 2000 | September 2000 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 042.86 | ||
 Milan Živadinović | October 2000 | October 2000 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 025.00 | ||
| Adnan Hamad | January 2001 | September 2001 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 038.46 | ||
 Rudolf Belin | September 2001 | January 2002 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 016.67 | ||
| Adnan Hamad | January 2002 | September 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 2002 WAFF Championship -Champions | |
 Bernd Stange | October 2002 | April 2004 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 035.29 | ||
 Adnan Hamad | April 2004 | January 2005 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 038.89 | ||
| Akram Salman | 12 January 2005 | 22 May 2007 | 2 years, 130 days | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 044.44 | 2005 West Asian Games -Champions |
 Jorvan Vieira | 25 May 2007 | 29 July 2007 | 65 days | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 035.71 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup -Champions |
 Egil Olsen | 17 September 2007 | 26 February 2008 | 162 days | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 033.33 | |
 Adnan Hamad | 27 February 2008 | 25 June 2008 | 119 days | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 025.00 | |
| Jorvan Vieira | 2 September 2008 | 6 February 2009 | 157 days | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 000.00 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil | 22 February 2009 | 21 May 2009 | 88 days | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.00 | |
 Bora Milutinović | 23 April 2009 | 20 June 2009 | 58 days | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 000.00 | 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup - Group stage |
| Nadhim Shaker | 10 July 2009 | 18 November 2009 | 131 days | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Wolfgang Sidka | 8 August 2010 | 8 August 2011 | 1 year, 0 days | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 048.15 | |
| Zico | 28 August 2011 | 28 November 2012 | 1 year, 92 days | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 045.45 | |
| Hakeem Shaker | 3 December 2012 | 6 February 2013 | 65 days | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 058.33 | |
| Vladimir Petrović | 21 February 2013 | 10 September 2013 | 201 days | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 014.29 | |
| Hakeem Shaker | 10 September 2013 | 29 November 2014 | 1 year, 80 days | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 033.33 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil | 13 December 2014 | 21 February 2015 | 70 days | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 020.00 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup - Fourth place |
| Akram Salman | 25 February 2015 | 17 June 2015 | 112 days | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 066.67 | |
| Yahya Alwan | 3 August 2015 | 24 March 2016 | 234 days | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 037.50 | |
| Abdul-Ghani Shahad | 24 March 2016 | 29 March 2016 | 5 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil | 20 April 2016 | 10 April 2017 | 355 days | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 018.18 | |
| Basim Qasim | 22 May 2017 | 5 August 2018 | 1 year, 75 days | 17 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 047.06 | |
 Srečko Katanec | 4 September 2018 | 30 June 2021 | 2 years, 299 days | 38 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 052.63 | |
 Dick Advocaat | 31 July 2021 | 23 November 2021 | 115 days | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 000.00 | |
 Željko Petrović | 23 November 2021 | 2 February 2022 | 71 days | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 016.67 | |
| Abdul-Ghani Shahad | 3 March 2022 | 29 March 2022 | 26 days | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.67 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil | 7 August 2022 | 12 November 2022 | 50 days | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 025.00 | |
 Jesús Casas | 12 November 2022 | 15 April 2025 | 2 years, 161 days | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 052.94 | 25th Arabian Gulf Cup -Champions |
 Graham Arnold | 10 May 2025 | present | 193 days | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 062.50 | |