Iraq Confirms World Cup Playoff Trip to Mexico Despite Regional War
The Iraqi national football team will travel to Mexico to play its 2026 World Cup playoff match despite travel difficulties caused by the war in the Middle East, as confirmed by the president of the Iraqi Football Association, Adnan Dirjal, on Saturday.
“The national team will depart for Mexico at the end of the week on a private plane, and we have managed to contact some of the clubs where our professional players are under contract so that they can join the team earlier than originally planned,” he said in a Facebook post.
Iraq will face the winner of the Bolivia vs. Suriname match, which will also be played five days earlier in Monterrey, for a place in the 2026 World Cup. The winner of that match will play in Group 1 of the World Cup alongside France, Senegal, and Norway.
Last Monday, the Australian Iraq national team coach Graham Arnold asked FIFA to postpone the match in the intercontinental playoff round, as many players and staff are stranded in the Middle East due to the war that broke out on February 28 following joint US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
Iraqi airspace is closed due to the airstrikes until at least April 1st; Tehran responded with a barrage of missiles and drones fired at Israeli territory and US positions in the region. “Given the circumstances and challenges facing the region,” the Iraqi Football Association appealed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Dirjal stated, thanking the world football governing body and the Asian Football Confederation for their assistance.
The Iranian national team has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but US President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that they should not travel to the United States “for their own safety.” The possibility of Iran withdrawing from the World Cup, which will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has been raised, which could benefit Iraq, but Team Melli dismissed this possibility.
The Iranian national team has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that they should not travel to the United States “for their own safety.” “The question of an Iranian withdrawal is nothing more than talk, and there is nothing official,” said the president of the Iraqi Football Association, Adnan Dirjal.
