Iraq’s participation in World Cup qualifiers cast into doubt

Doubts surround the Iraqi national team’s participation in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, as flights remain suspended in some countries in the region following the US-Israeli war in Iran.

The Iraqi national team was preparing to face the winner of the Bolivia-Suriname match in Monterrey, Mexico, on 31 March, as part of the World Cup qualifying play-offs.

With the current developments in Iran, the Iraqi team is facing great difficulties in securing travel for its entire squad to Mexico to play the match.

Iraqi airspace has been closed since last Saturday, coinciding with the start of the war in Iran and the subsequent Iranian response of launching missiles and drones towards Israel and several countries in the region, causing widespread disruption to air traffic.

The Iraqi Football Association said in an official statement that FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation are fully aware of the developments surrounding the national team.

The statement added: ‘Due to the closure of airspace, our national team coach Graham Arnold is currently unable to leave the UAE, and a number of embassies remain closed, preventing some players and members of the technical and medical staff from completing the procedures for obtaining visas to enter Mexico.’

World Cup play-offs in doubt

These developments come after media reports in recent days about the possibility of moving the World Cup play-offs from Mexico to Qatar for security reasons. However, the ongoing war in Iran and the Middle East has cast a shadow over the sporting scene in the region and halted many activities, including in Qatar, less than 100 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup.

The teams involved in the qualifying play-offs are now awaiting a decision from FIFA on the fate of the matches, should the air and security crisis that is disrupting travel in the region continue.

In Iraq, the sporting community has high hopes for this opportunity to return to the World Cup finals via the international play-offs, after a long and difficult qualifying campaign.

The Iraqi public hopes that their national team will succeed in ending their years of absence from the World Cup, as Iraq’s last participation in the tournament was in 1986 in Mexico, when they appeared for the first and only time in their history in the finals.

In a related context,

the Iranian team’s participation in the 2026 World Cup also appears to be in doubt in light of the rapid military developments, especially since the next edition of the tournament will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, at a time when the United States is engaged in direct warfare with Iran, which may open the door to political and logistical complications that could affect the Iranian team’s participation in the tournament.

Featured image via Iraqi football