Iraq 26 World Cup Preview

I still don't follow international soccer as around-the-year as I like to imply, truly. What really happens is every Spring, I scout years worth of soccer from teams in the summer's big tournament(s). Since I'm human, I enter each team with some kind of expectation.

The Iraq expectation was set 2 years ago in the Asian Cup, where my last memory of them was getting a group stage upset over Japan that "Morning Footy" laughably thought was their best ever win. 2 games later, they were out in the Round of 16 after I liked them in the semis.

Still, my expectation of Iraq was a defensively solid team like so many at this level in Asia that everybody was overlooking. How did that hold up?

Stylistically it's the same team that I had remembered from the last Men's Asian Cup, a simple one. Keep numbers back, ideally let the opposition have the ball & when a turnover is created look to play as fast as possible into big physical center forward(s) - Aymen Hussein the main man there.

As usual, teams with this approach choose to do so based on the technical ability of their options. I would not say a single player in this squad brings much in on-the-floor ball progression. A couple of their midfielders end up having to try, but often times this results in a giveaway.

Iraq are built to invite loads of pressure on a defense that, for most of the past 3 years, has not been very good. Most of the individuals on that back line don't inspire confidence & don't get a whole lot of help from advanced players in the team. This kind of defending is simply not World Cup quality:

Some teams are able to paper over a poor back line while still being a low-possession team because they can defend with all 11, the midfielders & even forwards taking their offball roles with extreme seriousness.

Not possible here - way to many players without a defensive bone in their body.

Some defenses just need the injection of one top class, uplifting centerback good enough to raise the level of everybody on the field.

Iraq have one of those in Zaid Tahseen, who finally became a regular starter in mid-2025 & this unit's most important player. The run that Iraq had to go through in October-March, 3 must-advance ties across 5 matches, were boosted by his presence in 4 of those. They finally looked like a team that could withstand the pressure of their system & the results proved it.

Also worth his own feature, though, is Aymen Hussein who actually is near-identical to Zaid for their attack - it looks like a completely different game when he's in the lineup. The guy wins just about any aerial thrown at him & can throw some vicious dunks down on defenders. Hussein isn't just a box threat either: simply finding his head anywhere in the central area of the field is a plus for Iraq, he's the favorite to win it & flick on.

Some of my favorite work from Hussein came in that Japan upset:

Later in the same half, Hussein shows that it isn't just his size. Look at the move he puts on to absolutely cook Hiroki Ito - currently of Bayern, right now! - to complete the brace:

The final feature on Hussein isn't him, but what the team looks like without him. Again, the same style & ideas are out there, but far worse execution. He would get on the end of this:

Nothing changes tactically without Aymen & Zaid, this team plays the exact same way, but their absence is painfully felt as you see a team that can't generate anything going forward while looking like a mess in the back.

If those 2 are good to go, Iraq are much better than their qualifying campaign.

The two vital cogs to this team are special in their own right, but still aren't up there with the best 9s & centerbacks in the world or even just Asia.

I could maybe fanfic Iraq to the knockouts in a few groups, but certainly not the Group of Death.

Because of their approach to the game & propensity for low scoring matches, they aren't in the bottom 3-ish teams in this World Cup. Don't be surprised if they get an awesome point for them & maybe in the process wreck the tournament for one of the others. That's their ceiling to me, though.