Five professionals join and Arnold starts preparations for Oman clash

Iraq's national team has taken its first real steps towards the Gulf Cup 27 title, welcoming five professional players in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, early this Monday. The hope is that the squad will be completed in the coming hours with the addition of more players, coinciding with the serious preparations for the match against Oman at the start of the tournament.

The Iraqi national team's delegation arrived in Jeddah on Sunday afternoon coming from Baghdad, and settled in their accommodation at one of the city's hotels. Australian coach Graham Arnold preferred to give the players some rest after the journey, with official training set to begin today, Monday, according to the pre-prepared program for the tournament.

The departing delegation from Baghdad includes all active players in the Iraqi Premier League, along with the coaching and medical staff, as well as Al-Nassr player Haider Abdulkarim, who arrived in Baghdad a few days ago and joined the delegation heading to the Kingdom.

This morning, five professionals joined the national team's camp, including the duo from Pakhtakor, Aymen Hussein and Zaid Tahsin, Sheffield Wednesday forward Ali Al-Hamadi, Dundee United player Zidan Iqbal, and Cracovia midfielder Amir Al-Ammari.

The players will be present at the first training session of the Lions of Mesopotamia in Jeddah this evening, where Arnold will focus on recovery aspects and muscle relaxation after travel, before moving into tactical elements.

The national team is expected to see the arrival of two more professionals today: defender Merchas Doski from Czech club Viktoria Plzeň and winger Ahmad Qassem from Nashville SC, bringing the total number of professionals to 7.

The Iraqi national team will finalize their squad tomorrow, Tuesday, with the arrival of Austrian club Red's player Youssef Al-Nasrawi, who will be the last to join due to his club's delay in releasing him and allowing him to leave.

The Iraq national team will hold their first training session today at 6 PM at King Abdulaziz Sports City in Jeddah, where the coaching staff will divide the training into two parts: the first will focus on recovery and the second will be light tactical work, with the main and most important session scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday.