The Iraqi national team held its last training session in preparation for facing its Thai counterpart in the final of the 51st edition of the King’s Cup of Thailand, which includes the teams of Thailand, Iraq, Hong Kong, and Fiji. The match will take place tomorrow, Sunday, at 4 PM Baghdad time, at the Kanchanaburi Regional Stadium.

Today's training saw the participation of 24 players, with Uzbek Pakhtakor player Bashar Rasan continuing to train with the Lions of Mesopotamia despite being excluded from the official list due to injury. The coaching staff, led by Graham Arnold, focused on the technical and psychological aspects, in an attempt to raise the players' readiness, as the coach aims to achieve the tournament title before entering the Asian qualifiers playoff matches.

Player Marco Faraj said before the training session:

"The Iraqi national team’s preparations are intense for the final against Thailand. Yesterday's training was only for recovery, while today we focused on the tactical aspect and mental readiness. We aspire to win the title as we did in 2003, and this would be the best gift for the Iraqi fans."

For his part, defender Zaid Tahseen confirmed that the tournament represents an important preparatory stage, adding:

"The main goal of the King’s Cup matches is to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers. We apologize to the fans for the unimpressive performance against Hong Kong, but we promise them that we will be in our best form tomorrow against Thailand and present a distinguished image that befits the reputation of Iraqi football."

The Iraqi national team hopes that the final will provide a strong morale boost before entering the Asian playoff competitions for the 2026 World Cup, where they will face the Indonesian team and then Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, in October.