I made a similar point about Iraq head coach Graham Arnold before the Norway match, but it feels worth revisiting.
Arnold, best known for his spell in charge of Australia, is now leading Iraq. When the role first came his way, his agent reportedly told him he would not accept it. Arnold’s reaction was simple: “Why not?”
He took the job and quickly began trying to steady a side that had just suffered a damaging defeat to Palestine in the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying. Arnold has said he had long admired Iraq’s talent, while sensing that something was not quite clicking. His focus became getting the strongest players into their most effective roles, though communication brought its own challenges. Not every player shared the same language, so he has organised Arabic speakers on the right, English speakers on the left, and bilingual players through the centre.
Arnold even relocated to Baghdad to better understand the country, only for circumstances to become increasingly complicated amid Israeli attacks. At one point, he was stranded in Dubai while his squad were elsewhere and bombing was taking place around the region.
Aymen Hussein, who struck Iraq’s winning goal against Bolivia, was detained at O’Hare Airport while travelling to the United States. Iraqi airspace has also since been shut.
Yet Arnold appears determined to turn those difficulties into motivation rather than lean on them as excuses. It is an admirable mindset.
Sadly, they do not look especially ready to challenge here. Still, it would be wonderful to see Iraq leave a meaningful imprint on the World Cup at some point.
