Jesús Casas Identifies Iraq's Weakness in the World Cup

The former Spanish coach of the Lions of Mesopotamia, Jesús Casas, identified the most critical weakness in the current Iraqi national team at the 2026 World Cup, following their opening 1-4 loss to Norway in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Casas, who was dismissed from his position due to the decline in Asian qualifying results - most notably the 1-2 loss to Palestine in Amman - returned to speak about the team he built.

He considered that the current World Cup lineup is entirely the result of his work, from changing the methodology to developing the style, with the exception of only two players whose sports naturalization procedures were nearing completion before his departure.

The Spanish coach was realistic in his expectations: "Iraq's group includes France, Norway, and Senegal. Logically, the natural situation is to exit the tournament from the first round with three losses. But football always leaves the door open for surprises."

The most important diagnosis Casas provided was about the goalkeeper position. He stated bluntly: "Iraq is suffering from a clear crisis in this position, and during our period, we did not succeed in finding an alternative with the same competence."

He focused on Jalal Hassan, the first-choice goalkeeper: "Jalal is the main one, and if he hasn't reached forty, he is very close to it. Against Norway, we noticed that when he falls to the ground, he takes a long time to get up. These small details become catastrophic in the World Cup."

Therefore, Casas concluded that "Iraq's weakness in the tournament is the goalkeeper position" - the most important and sensitive position in the game, especially against attackers like Haaland and Mbappé.

In a personal part of his talk, Casas described coaching Iraq as "one of the best decisions of my career." But he added: "Staying when I had the opportunity to leave was my biggest mistake ever."

The reason: In May 2024, he received an offer to coach the South Korean national team, a big step that could have changed his path. However, he preferred to continue to complete the project with Iraq. The end was a "very bad" dismissal after a draw and a loss, in his opinion, despite the effort put into building.