Iraq dream of 2026 World Cup as Asian qualifying enters a new-look phase

New format to be used as Iraq aim to reach a second successive World Cup

Iraq will begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in the second round as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) unveiled a new format for the qualification process on Wednesday. The Lions of Mesopotamia have been drawn in Group A alongside Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Maldives.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round, where they will be joined by the eight group winners from the first round. The 12 teams will then be divided into two groups of six, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the World Cup.

Iraq will be hoping to reach a second successive World Cup after they qualified for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. However, they will face a tough challenge in a group that includes Saudi Arabia, who are ranked 49th in the FIFA World Rankings, and Oman, who are ranked 75th.

The Lions of Mesopotamia will be led by new coach Abdul-Ghani Shahad, who was appointed in February. Shahad has a wealth of experience in Iraqi football, having previously coached the national under-23 team and the Iraqi Premier League club Al-Zawraa.

Iraq will begin their qualifying campaign on October 12th when they host Yemen in Basra. They will then face Oman away on October 17th, Saudi Arabia at home on October 20th, and the Maldives away on October 27th.