The Iraqi national team begins its preparatory journey for the 2026 World Cup finals with a friendly match against the Andorran national team on May 29, on Spanish soil, as part of the training camp that the 'Lions of Mesopotamia' are holding in Europe.

The match represents the first official test for the team before the global event next month and will be an important technical station for coach Graham Arnold to test the players' readiness and establish the features of the main lineup.

The Iraqi Federation chose Spain to host the team's camp due to the ideal atmosphere and good infrastructure, in addition to the ease of arranging friendly matches with European teams.

The 'Lions of Mesopotamia' will play only two matches during the camp so far, the first against Andorra on May 29 and the second against the Spanish national team on June 4, in a strong match that is considered the final rehearsal before the World Cup begins.

The two matches will be an opportunity to evaluate the level of professional and local players and measure the harmony between the lines, especially since the team has not played any match since the World Cup playoff against Bolivia last March.

Although Andorra is classified among the modest European teams, Arnold views the match as a station to build tactics and raise physical readiness.

The Iraqi team will benefit from the match to try more than one option in the lineup and give the opportunity to new faces, especially expatriate players who have recently joined, such as Youssef Nasrawi, with ongoing attempts to finalize the Noah Darwish file.

The technical staff wants to reach the highest degree of harmony before facing Spain, which will be the strongest preparatory test for the team before the World Cup.

The Spanish camp represents the final phase of preparation, and the technical staff is betting on these two matches to finalize the final list and address any gaps before entering the official atmosphere.