The Iraqi national team's coaching staff received a painful blow before the upcoming two rounds of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, as the absence of two prominent stars, Amjad Attwan and Zidane Iqbal, due to injury, has been confirmed.

A knowledgeable source stated in a special interview with Al-Maalouma Agency that player Amjad Attwan, star of Zakho Club, has not recovered from a recent knee injury, as he continues to be absent from his club's lineup, which led the national team's coaching staff to officially exclude him from the roster for the matches against South Korea and Jordan due to lack of physical readiness.

The source indicated that the coach decided to give an opportunity to another player capable of contributing and supporting, given the importance of the two decisive matches in the qualifying campaign, in hopes of compensating for Attwan's absence, who is considered one of the key pillars of the national team's lineup and one of the reasons for Zakho's recent poor results.

Attwan's injury was not the only one, as the national team will also miss the services of Zidane Iqbal, a player from the Dutch club Utrecht, who will not be available for the national team's camp due to his own injury, which creates a technical gap in the Iraqi midfield.

The Iraqi public is waiting to see how capable the coaching staff is in compensating for these impactful absences, especially since the matches against South Korea and Jordan are crucial in determining the team's fate in the World Cup qualifiers.