The Iraqi national team continues its intensive preparations before entering the playoff competitions for the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Iraq will face Indonesia on October 11 and Saudi Arabia on October 14 as part of the group matches.

The coaching staff, led by coach Graham Arnold, emphasized the importance of these matches, noting that the playoff will be more difficult than the direct qualifiers due to the differences in playing styles and the need to face experienced and well-rounded teams.

Assistant coach Bassam Raouf stated that the team will see the inclusion of five new players to enhance the team's technical strength, namely: Zidane Iqbal, Imar Sher, Hussein Ali, Mustafa Saadoun, and possibly Hassan Abdul Karim. He added that these additions will provide the team with more depth in various positions, especially in the midfield and wings, in addition to enhancing the synergy with the current players.

Raouf pointed out that Iraq has already gained three outstanding players during its participation in the King of Thailand Cup, which are: Marco Faraj, Kevin Yaqoub, and Montader Al-Majed, stressing that these players contributed to raising the team's level and adding technical quality to the lineup of the Black Falcons.

Raouf confirmed that the coaching staff is working to prepare the players in the best possible way by studying the opponents in detail and developing specific game plans for each match, indicating that coach Arnold needs to deal with each team in a different manner due to the opponents' reading of the Iraqi team's tactics through following its recent matches.

He explained that the main issue for the team lies in the defense line; however, the harmony among the players and the experience gained from previous matches will help overcome this concern and achieve strong levels that qualify Iraq to compete for points.