Before the start of Gulf Cup 27: Discover Iraq's history in the tournament

Iraq are aiming for a strong performance in the Gulf Cup 'Gulf 27' hosted by Saudi Arabia, starting next Wednesday. The Lions of Mesopotamia will kick off their campaign against Oman at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.

Iraq enters the tournament carrying a great legacy and a rich history in the Gulf Cup, being one of the most prominent teams that has left its mark since its first appearance in the tournament in 1976. The team has a record filled with remarkable numbers, whether in terms of titles, top scorers, or significant results, during a golden era associated with legendary names such as Aymen Hussein, the late Ahmed Radhi, Falah Hassan, and Raad Hamoudi, among others.

Iraq made its first appearance in the Gulf Cup during the fourth edition held in Qatar in 1976, and from the very first moment, it managed to compete strongly for the title before losing it to Kuwait after a playoff match that ended 4-2 in favor of the Kuwaiti blue.

Since then, Iraq has participated in 17 editions of the tournament, counting the 1982 and 1990 editions from which it withdrew. It was absent for a long time before returning in "Gulf 17" in Qatar in 2004. Thus, its participation in "Gulf 27" will be the eighteenth in its history and the first after its participation in the last edition "Gulf 26".

Iraq has won the Gulf Cup title 4 times, placing second in the list of the most decorated teams behind Kuwait with ten titles. The first title came in the fifth edition hosted in Baghdad in 1979.

In that historic edition, the Lions of Mesopotamia achieved one of the strongest performances ever, winning all six of their matches and scoring 23 goals while conceding only one. They then waited until 1984 to add their second title in Muscat, before returning to the podium at "Gulf 9" in Riyadh in 1988.

Iraq had been without a title for more than three decades before ending their drought at the Gulf Cup 25 in Basra in 2023, when they defeated Oman 3-2 after extra time in a memorable final, raising their tally to four titles.

Hussein Saeed tops Iraq's all-time Gulf Cup scoring list with 17 goals, which is tied for the second-highest tally in the tournament's history alongside Saudi Arabia's Majed Abdullah, and just behind Kuwait's Jassem Yaqoub, who has 18 goals.

Notably, Hussein Saeed's goals came in only two editions, where he scored 10 goals in the Al Khaleej 5 in 1979 and added 7 goals in the 1984 edition.

Hussein Saeed still holds a historic record that has not been broken to this day, scoring 10 goals in a single edition in 1979, which is the highest tally for a player in a single edition in the history of the Gulf Cup, a record that has stood for 47 years.

Several Iraqi strikers have stood out, including Falah Hassan, who scored 8 goals, and Ahmed Radhi, who was the top scorer of the 1988 edition with 4 goals, tied with the Emirati Zuhair Bakhit. In "Gulf 25", Aymen Hussein and Ibrahim Bayesh shared the top scorer title with 3 goals each, and Bayesh received the Best Player award.

Iraq's biggest victory in its history dates back to the 1979 edition, when the national team thrashed Oman 7-0 at Al Shaab Stadium in Baghdad. Aymen Hussein scored four goals in that match, while Falah Hassan added two and Adil Khudhair completed the seven-goal haul.

That was not the only big result in that edition, as Iraq beat the UAE 5-0, Bahrain 4-0, Kuwait 3-1, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia 2-0, completing the tournament with six full victories.

With 4 titles and a historic top scorer alongside emphatic victories, Iraq enters the Gulf Cup 27 seeking to add a new chapter to its illustrious history, counting on its current stars such as Aymen Hussein and Ali Al-Hamadi, along with the other names that Graham Arnold is betting on to bring the title back to the cabinets of the Lions of Mesopotamia.