Iraq have made oneFIFA World Cup appearance in1986, scoring a solitary goal againstBelgium. Iraq are one of eight currentAFC nations to have won theAFC Asian Cup, claiming the title in2007 in spite of difficult conditions and limited preparation. Iraq defeated some of the favourites in the competition includingAustralia,South Korea andSaudi Arabia. This qualified them for the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup where they earned two points in the group stage; they later finished fourth at the2015 AFC Asian Cup.[5]
Iraq are theArab Cup's most successful team with four titles, and have also won theArabian Gulf Cup four times and theWAFF Championship once.[6] Iraq is known for its passionate football fans and the national team is seen as a symbol of hope and unity for Iraqi people.[7] The team reached its highestFIFA World Ranking of 39th in October 2004.[8]
In 1962, Iraq appointed their first foreign manager,Romanian coachCornel Drăgușin. Iraq won their first trophy in1964 when they won theArab Cup, winning three and drawing one of their four games. Inthe following edition, they retained their Arab Cup title, beatingSyria 2–1 in the final inBaghdad.[9]
In1972, Iraq played at their first everAFC Asian Cup but failed to win a game in the tournament. In March 1973, Iraq played their first everFIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. They finished second in theirgroup, a point behindAustralia, therefore failing to qualify for the next round. In the remaining years of the 1970s, Iraq reached the second round of theAsian Games (1974), lost theArabian Gulf Cup final (1976), finished fourth at the AFC Asian Cup (1976), finished fourth in the Asian Games (1978) and finally hosted and won the Arabian Gulf Cup (1979).[12] The 1976 Asian Cup would be the last Asian Cup that Iraq appeared in for the next 20 years, as they withdrew from the next four editions.
Iraq were seeded into thefirst round of qualifiers where they facedQatar andJordan. Iraq topped Group 1B with 6 points, and advanced to the second round. Iraq faced United Arab Emirates in two legs. Iraq defeated UAE 3–2 inDubai.Iraq lost with 2–1 to UAE in the second leg. Iraq won 4–4 aggregate on away goals and advanced to the final round. In the final round, Iraq tied Syria 0–0 inDamascus. Iraq defeated Syria 3–1 in the second leg inTaif. Iraq won 3–1 on aggregate and qualified to the1986 FIFA World Cup.[citation needed]
At their first game of the Group B at the1986 FIFA World Cup, Iraq played well againstParaguay, losing narrowly 1–0 despite scoring a goal that was controversially disallowed by the referee. Iraq recorded their first World Cup goal in the second game, scoring againstBelgium in a 1–2 defeat despite having ten men, withAhmed Radhi scoring a goal for Iraq.[13] Iraq played against hostsMexico in the third game, losing 1–0 and being eliminated from the World Cup.[citation needed]
In the following years, Iraq won the1988 Arabian Gulf Cup and won the1988 Arab Cup. Overall, Iraq won nine competitions in the 1980s and played in their only World Cup, leading many to believe that this was the golden era of Iraqi football. In 1989, Iraq competed in qualifying for a berth in the 1990 World Cup finals, but they lost a crucial game against Qatar.[citation needed]
Following theGulf War in 1990, Iraq was banned from participating in theAsian Games and in most Arab competitions. The ban wasn't extended to the Asian Cup and World Cup.
In 1993, Iraq participated in qualifiers for the1994 FIFA World Cup. Grouped withChina,Yemen,Jordan andPakistan in the first stage, Iraq proved to be too strong for the rest, with the team only failing to win twice, a draw to Jordan and loss to China.[citation needed]
In the final round, Iraq was grouped withSaudi Arabia,South Korea,Japan,Iran andNorth Korea.[citation needed] On the first matchday, Iraq lost 3–2 toNorth Korea in a dramatic way, being 2–0 ahead in the second half. After an Iraqi player was sent off, North Korea pulled back in the 67th minute, equalized in the 77th minute and scored the winner in the 82nd minute.[14] They then tied 2–2 withSouth Korea.[15] and then defeatedIran 2–1 by goals ofAhmed Radhi andAlaa Kadhim.[16]
Iraq missed out on a World Cup spot by two points. By drawing their last game withJapan 2–2, they denied the Japanese a place in the finals in a match referred to by the Japanese media as theAgony of Doha.[17] The loss against North Korea proved to be the difference with the other teams, as North Korea lost their other 4 matches and finished bottom of the group.[citation needed]
Iraq participated in the1996 AFC Asian Cup, their first Asian Cup campaign for 20 years of withdrawing from the previous four. They reached the quarter-finals but lost to the United Arab Emirates due to agolden goal scored byAbdulrahman Ibrahim. In 1996, Iraq was ranked 139th in the world, which is their worst FIFA ranking in their history due to inactivity after withdrawing from several tournaments.
This period is known as 'The Dark Era' asUday Hussein, the son ofSaddam Hussein and then-president of IFA, abused his control of Iraqi football and tortured players who played poorly, punishing them by sending them to prison, making them bathe in raw sewage and kick concrete balls, and shaving their heads among many other punishments.[18][19]
Iraq reached thefinal round of2002 FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time since1994 but lost five of their eight second-round games and therefore failed to make the finals.[citation needed]
Iraq won their first ever WAFF Championship in2002, beating Jordan 3–2 in the final after extra time.[citation needed]
In 2004, Iraq lost the opening match againstUzbekistan then they won againstTurkmenistan andSaudi Arabia respectively, to reach the quarter-finals of theAFC Asian Cup before getting knocked out by China.[20]
Iraq were ranked as high as 39th in the World Rankings in October 2004 which is their highest ranking position in their history. The following year, Iraq won the gold medal in theWest Asian Games by beating Syria in the final via a penalty shootout. In 2007, Iraq were knocked out at the group stage of theArabian Gulf Cup after a controversial defeat toSaudi Arabia.[21] Akram Salman was sacked andJorvan Vieira appointed as head coach. Under him, Iraq reached the final of theWAFF Championship but lost 2–1 to Iran.[citation needed]
In July 2007, Iraq kicked off their2007 AFC Asian Cup campaign. The squad was made mainly of players that won the2000 AFC Youth Championship, finished fourth at the2004 Olympic Games and second at the2006 Asian Games. Vieira only had two months to prepare his team for the tournament, and the team suffered from very poor facilities. The Iraq FA struggled to provide the team with enough kits for the tournament and Iraq had not been able to play any previous games in their own country for security reasons and most of the players had had family members killed in the war.[22]
The team started the tournament with a 1–1 draw against joint-hostsThailand before producing a 3–1 win over favourites Australia. A draw withOman followed to put Iraq into the quarter-finals where two goals fromYounis Mahmoud againstVietnam put Iraq into the semi-finals for the second time in their history. They manages to knock out one of the best Asian teams,South Korea in the semis via a penalty shootout in which Noor Sabri made a crucial save.[22] After the game, a suicide bomber killed 30 football fans who were celebrating the semi-final win over South Korea and this almost led to the Iraqi team withdrawing from the final,[23] but they decided to go on in honour of the dead and succeeded in doing that after defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final, a game that they dominated from start to finish and that was won by a Younis Mahmoud header. This tournament win is seen as one of the greatest upsets in international history as a war-torn country became international champions in what is described as one of sport's greatest 'fairytales'.[24][25]
Vieira stated during the final that he would resign after the Asian Cup.[26] He was replaced byEgil Olsen in September 2007.[27]
UnderEgil Olsen, Iraq advanced from the first round by beatingPakistan 7–0 on aggregate. Then they were drawn withAustralia,China, andQatar for the second round.[28] On the first matchday, Iraq tied China. As a consequence,Olsen was sacked and replaced byAdnan Hamad.[29]
The next two matches saw Iraq lose twice toQatar andAustralia. However, Iraq bounced back with an 1–0 win on Australia and 2–1 win against China.[30]
On 26 May 2008, FIFA decided to suspend Iraq from all international competitions after theIraq Football Association was disbanded by the government on 20 May 2008.[31] The suspension was provisionally and conditionally lifted on 29 May 2008.[32]
Iraq needed 1 point to advance to the final stage on the last matchday, but failed to advance to the final round of2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as a 1–0 defeat toQatar saw them finish in third in the group. Following this, the Iraq FA decided to disband the team and sacked Hamad.[33]
Qatar fielded ineligible playerEmerson in the 2–0 defeat to Iraq on 26 March 2008, prompting FIFA to controversially[34] suspend him but clear Qatar of any wrongdoing, in direct contradiction to its decisions againstSingapore. Iraq appealed the decision to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport but it was rejected by the CAS, saying that Iraq submitted documents and appeal fees too late.[35]
In 2009, Iraq participated in only their second FIFA tournament ever: 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 1–0 toUEFA Euro 2008 winnersSpain. Iraq drew the last game 0–0 withNew Zealand and were knocked out.
On 20 November 2009, the FIFA Emergency Committee suspended the Iraq FA due to government interference;[37] the suspension was lifted on 19 March 2010.[38]
Iraq qualified automatically for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. They were drawn against Iran, North Korea and UAE in Group D. After a 2–1 loss against Iran, and 1–0 win against UAE, Iraq went into the match against North Korea needing only a draw to progress. Iraq won 1–0 and advanced to the quarterfinals as group runners-up. On 23 January, Iraq lost to Australia, 1–0, in the quarterfinal. The match went into extra time withHarry Kewell heading in a goal in the 117th minute just inside the 18-yard box.[citation needed]
Under coachWolfgang Sidka, Iraq were drawn into thesecond round of qualifiers where they facedYemen. Iraq defeated Yemen 2–0 inArbil on 23 July before drawing 0–0 inAl Ain five days later. Iraq advanced to thethird round of qualifiers where they were grouped withJordan,China andSingapore. The IFA announced it would not renew Wolfgang Sidka's contract on 2 August 2011.[39] On 29 August 2011, Brazilian legendZico signed a one-year contract to become the new coach of Iraq.[40]
Iraq topped Group A with 15 points, and in the final qualification stage was drawn withJordan,Japan,Australia andOman. Iraq started with 1–1 draws against Jordan away and Oman at home. After their slow start, Iraq lost 1–0 to Japan away and lost a crucial home match against Australia 2–1, moving them into bottom position with 2 points. On 14 November 2012, Iraq won 1–0 against Jordan in Doha which elevated them to third in Group B, behind Australia on goal difference and ahead of Oman.[citation needed]
On 28 November 2012, Zico resigned as head coach.[41] The Iraqi FA appointedVladimir Petrović as his replacement on 25 February 2013.[42] However, on 11 June 2013, Iraq lost 1–0 toJapan inDoha and were eliminated from the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[43]
Iraq were in a2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifying group alongsideSaudi Arabia,China andIndonesia. After losing consecutively against China and Saudi Arabia, Iraq was in danger of missing out on the Asian Cup. They kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup with a 2–0 away win over Indonesia on 19 November 2013, and on the last matchday, Iraq booked their spot with a commanding 3–1 win at the Sharjah Stadium against China. Due to bad results at the22nd Arabian Gulf Cup,Hakeem Shaker was sacked and the FA appointedRadhi Shenaishil as caretaker coach.
Iraq began the2015 AFC Asian Cup campaign with a 1–0 win overJordan.[44] In the next match, Iraq facedJapan and lost the match 0–1.[45] Iraq then beatPalestine 2–0 and qualified to knockout stage as the Group D runner-up.[46] Iraq defeated Iran in the quarter-finals in penalties, 7–6, after the game ended 3–3 after 120 minutes of play.[47] They facedSouth Korea in the semi-finals but lost 0–2.[48] Iraq finished the AFC Asian Cup in fourth place, after losing 2–3 toUnited Arab Emirates in third/fourth place play-off.[49]
Their first match took place on 8 January 2019 against Vietnam and ended in a 3–2 victory for Iraq.[56] Their second match against Yemen on January 12 ended in a 3–0 victory, with goals coming from Mohanad Ali, Bashar Resan, and Alaa Abbas. In their final group game, Iraq faced Iran on January 16, resulting in a 0–0 draw. With these performances, Iraq finished second in Group D and advanced to the knockout stage.[57]
In the Round of 16, Iraq faced Qatar. Despite their efforts, Iraq suffered a 1–0 defeat, withBassam Al-Rawi scoring the only goal, ending their journey in the tournament.Qatar later won the tournament.[58]
Iraq participated in the second round of the Asian qualifiers. They were placed in Group C alongside Bahrain, Iran, Cambodia, and Hong Kong and reached the final round with five wins from eight matches including a 2–1 victory againstIran.[59]
Iraq went 19 consecutive matches without losing between 2019 and 2021 and moved up from 89th to 68th in the FIFA rankings during Katanec's tenure. Katanec departed in July 2021 after six months of unpaid wages and filed a complaint withFIFA.[citation needed]
On 31 July 2021, DutchmanDick Advocaat was appointed head coach of Iraq.[60] Under Advocaat, Iraq made to a slow start to the final round of World Cup Qualifiers, drawing four games and losing two, and on 21 November 2021, Advocaat resigned.Željko Petrović took charge of the team for the2021 FIFA Arab Cup, where Iraq were eliminated from the group stage. Petrović was sacked after two further winless qualifying games andAbdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as an interim manager, but Iraq were eliminated after finishing fourth in the group.
Iraq was drawn in Group D, with Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.[61] On 15 January 2024, Iraq overcame Indonesia 3–1.[62] Four days later, Iraq created the biggest shock in the tournament, stunning Japan (who had been undefeated in the last 11 matches) by beating them 2–1 in the second group match to ensure first place in the group; both Iraq goals were scored byAymen Hussein.[63] With the outcome confirmed, Iraq largely rotated their squad on the final match against Vietnam, and ended up triumphant 3–2 to make history by earning a perfect record of nine points.[64] However, Iraq suffered a shock defeat in the Round of 16, losing 2–3 to Jordan to exit the tournament. The result was controversial due to a second yellow card shown to Aymen Hussein by the referee for his celebration after he had scored to take a 2–1 lead.[65]
On 7 November 2022,Jesús Casas was appointed head coach of the Iraq national football team, with a contract running until the2026 FIFA World Cup.[66] In his first tournament in charge, Iraq hosted and won the25th Arabian Gulf Cup, defeatingOman 3–2 after extra time in the final.[67]
During thesecond round of World Cup qualification, Iraq was placed in Group F alongside Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The team had an impressive run, winning all six matches, securing qualification to the next round and for the2027 AFC Asian Cup.[68] In thethird round of qualification, Iraq was drawn into Group B, which included South Korea, Jordan, Palestine, Oman, and Kuwait. However, despite early momentum, Iraq struggled to maintain consistency. Following a 2–1 defeat to Palestine on 27 March 2025, theIraq Football Association (IFA) held an urgent meeting and unanimously decided to dismiss Casas and his coaching staff. His contract was officially terminated on 15 April 2025.[69]
Casas was succeeded by Australian coachGraham Arnold. Arnold took over for the final matches of the third round, but Iraq finished third in the group and missed out on direct qualification to the World Cup, instead proceeding to the fourth round of qualifiers. In thefourth round, Iraq were drawn with hosts Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Iraq ended Indonesia's hope of qualification with a 1–0 victory,[70] however Iraq finished as group runners-up after a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia, who qualified to the World Cup on goals scored.[71] Iraq advanced to the two-leggedfifth round playoff against the United Arab Emirates; in the first leg in Abu Dhabi, the teams drew 1–1.[72] In the return leg in Basra, Iraq triumphed 2–1, winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate, thanks to a dramatic stoppage-time penalty converted byAmir Al-Ammari. With that victory, Iraq advanced to theinter-confederation play-offs,[73] where they were drawn to face the winner of the game betweenBolivia andSuriname in a play-off match held in Mexico to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[74]
The Iraqi national football team's traditional home colour is green, while the away colour is white and the third colour is black. Iraq's kits have previously been manufactured by brands such as Puma, Nike, Diadora, Jack & Jones, Lotto, Peak, Givova, Umbro and Adidas. The current kit supplier isJako.[75][3]
Lion in ceramic tile from theIshtar Gate in Babylon
The Iraqi team is commonly known asUsood al-Rafidayn (Arabic:أُسُودُ الرَّافِدَيْن), meaning"Lions ofMesopotamia". Inancient Mesopotamia, theBabylonian lion was a symbol of power, impetuosity, ferocity, prestige and dominance.[80] This is reflected in the sculpted lions inBabylon, where theprocessional path is ornamented withceramic tilebas-reliefs representing a prestigious lion from the time ofNebuchadnezzar II. This kind of representation aimed to glorify the king, master of the beasts, and also represent the defeat of the enemy.[81] Moreover, the Mesopotamian royal inscriptions depict the king as a ferocious lion to whom nothing can be resisted.[82][83][84] Thepresence of lions in ancient Iraqi civilization was based on the belief, or desire, that the animals represented would bring with them the virtues they symbolized, so that they could be transmitted to the owners.[85]
Iraq kits throughout history have usually featured theflag of Iraq on them, although thecoat of arms of Iraq and theIraq Football Association logo have both appeared on kits in the past. The national team has occasionally had its own unique logo, the first of which was from 1982 to 1983. This logo was based on the Iraq flag, withIraqi written at the top of the crest.[86] From 2000 to 2002, the national team's logo featured a green outline with the wordIraq written at the top in green Arabic text. In the2005 West Asian Games, the team wore a new logo with the red band of the flag appearing in a large semi-circle shape,[87] and in 2007, Iraq briefly reverted to using the logo that they had used from 2000 to 2002. On 23 October 2020, the national team's current logo was revealed, with a star featuring above the crest from 2021 to 2022 to commemorate the nation's2007 AFC Asian Cup victory.[88]
Due to its geographical location, Iraq maintains strong rivalries with many neighbours.
Iraq's main and traditional rival has beenIran, and they are often considered to be two of the greatest football teams in the Middle East and Asia with one of the greatest rivalries. At the early stage, Iran had proved to be more dominant than Iraq, remaining undefeated from 1964 until 1993. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign ofSaddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought theIran–Iraq War for eight years.[89][90] Iraqis have considered any matches against Iran as a must-win encounter and are known to treat it differently from any other football matches.[91] Iraq has played31 matches against Iran with6 victories, 7 draws, and 18 losses.
Iraq's other rival isSaudi Arabia, and matches between the two teams also draw significant attention from Iraqi fans, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia being recognised as the two most successful Arab teams in Asia. The beginnings of the footballing rivalry between them dates back to the 1970s, but it was only after the 1990s that the rivalry between the two Arab nations truly developed since it was previously overshadowed by Iraq's rivalries with Iran and Kuwait.[92] One of these reasons for the rivalry to develop is due to the bitterGulf War, where Iraq fought against Saudi Arabia overKuwait, an ally of Saudi Arabia.[93] These encounters have also been marred with various controversies and hostilities, such as the21st Arabian Gulf Cup hosting rights, where Iraq was stripped from hosting with the tournament instead being moved to Bahrain, a move which was believed by Iraqis as a deliberate act by Saudi Arabia to remove Iraq's home advantage.[93] Before that, Iraq was also banned from hosting home games against Saudi Arabia due to the Gulf War.[93] Iraq has played42 matches against Saudi Arabia with18 victories, 12 draws, and 12 losses.
Iraq's rivalry withKuwait was once considered the greatest football rivalry in the Middle East, until being taken over by Iraq's rivalry with Saudi Arabia due to Kuwait's decline. The rivalry began in the mid-1970s. Because of the Gulf War, Iraq and Kuwait were in complete avoidance and never met for more than 15 years until 2005. Iraq has played39 matches against Kuwait with17 victories, 12 draws, and 10 losses.
Iraq national team supporters are known for chanting "O Victorious Baghdad" ("منصورة يا بغداد") or "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you, O Iraq" ("بالروح بالدم نفديك يا عراق") during the Iraqi team's matches.[94]
Another famous chant is "the first goal is coming" ("هسه يجي الاول") which is chanted in the beginning of the match.[95] A succeeding chant is "the second goal is coming" ("هسه يجي الثاني"); this is usually chanted repeatedly after Iraq score a goal to motivate the players to score another.
Iraq primarily plays its home matches atBasra International Stadium but has also used various other venues across the country. Since 1980, FIFA has imposed bans on Iraq hosting competitive international matches on six occasions.
The first ban came in 1980 after fan and player violence during a match againstKuwait. Although lifted in 1982, theIran–Iraq War led to a renewed ban. During this period, Iraq played home games at neutral venues but still qualified for the1986 FIFA World Cup and threeOlympic Games tournaments. The ban ended in 1988 after the war.[96]
A new ban followed theGulf War in 1990 which lasted until 1995. Iraq hosted matches during the1998 and2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers but was again forced to play abroad following theIraq War in 2003. Home matches resumed in 2009, but security concerns led to another ban in 2011.[97]
The following 23 players were called up for the2025 FIFA Arab Cup from 1 to 18 December 2025.[107] Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2025, after the game againstUnited Arab Emirates.
SUS Player suspended INJ Player injured PRE Player was named in preliminary squad CLB Player refused by club or unable to attend due to club commitments RET Player retired from the national team WD Player withdrew for non-injury related reasons
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