Arnold reveals his goals in the Gulf Cup 27

Monday 21-09-2026

Aboudi

Iraq's national team enters the FIFA World Cup "Gulf 27" in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with great ambition and a clear goal of compensating for its disappointing exit from the group stage in the last edition held in Kuwait, while seeking its fifth title in history to match its previous achievements.

Iraq are in a tough Group A alongside hosts Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. The team will begin their campaign with a challenging match against Oman on Wednesday, before facing Kuwait in the second round, and then concluding the group stage with an anticipated clash against Saudi Arabia.

The Iraqi Football Association and fans are counting heavily on Australian coach Graham Arnold, the man who led Iraq to a historic achievement by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after a 40-year absence from the tournament, and who has given the national team a new identity and strong character.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had sent a strong message before the tournament when he said: "I will not go to any tournament just to participate and enjoy it," clearly indicating that his goal is to compete for the title and not just to take part for the sake of it.

The Australian coach indicated that about half of the World Cup squad will not participate in the Gulf Cup, as he decided to give the opportunity to a number of new players and young faces to prove their worth and create a new generation capable of carrying the flag in the future. This explains the call-up of names like Haydeer Abdulkareem, Youssef Al Nasrawi, and Saif Rasheed.

Despite their great ambition, Iraq's national team is missing several key players in this edition due to injury, including defender Kamil Saadi, forward Mohanad Ali "Mimi", full-back Hussein Ali, winger Youssef Al-Amin, and midfielder Kevin. These absences will undoubtedly affect Arnold's options.

Iraq has a rich history in the Gulf Cup, having won the title four times in 1979 in Baghdad, 1984 in Muscat, 1988 in Riyadh, and 2023 in Basra during the "Gulf 25". They were also runners-up twice in 1976 and 2013.

The legendary late coach Amoo Baba remains the unique figure in Iraqi football history in this tournament, having led the Lions of Mesopotamia to three of their four titles in 1979, 1984, and 1988, thus immortalizing his name as the most successful coach in Iraq's Gulf Cup participations.