The Iraqi national team is preparing for a decisive match against the Saudi national team tomorrow, Tuesday, in the final round of the Asian playoff for qualification to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium at 9:45 PM Jeddah time, with an expected audience of over 62,000 spectators.

Coach Graham Arnold relies on three essential keys to achieve victory and secure direct qualification, starting with securing the defense of the Black Eagles despite the absence of the central defensive duo Zaid Tahseen and Manaf Younis. The technical staff will work on closing spaces and establishing a solid defensive wall that includes the midfield, wings, full-backs, and central defenders, while assigning players to monitor the movements of key Saudi players, led by Salem Al-Dawsari.

The second key lies in exploiting the speed of the wings, as it is expected that the match will see the participation of Youssef Amin alongside Ibrahim Bayesh and possibly Montazer Al-Majed, to enhance counter-attacks and find gaps in the Saudi Green's defense.

The third and most important key is the return of Ayman Hussein, who missed the match against Indonesia, to be the primary man in attack, due to his ability to score from half-chances and headers, which increases the effectiveness of the Black Eagles' attacks against the Saudi goal.