Iraq coach calls for World Cup playoff to be re-scheduled
The Peninsula
Paris, France, March 9, 2026 (AFP) Iraq coach Graham Arnold pleaded with FIFA on Monday to postpone his team s intercontinental playoff for the World...
Paris, France, March 9, 2026 (AFP) -Iraq coach Graham Arnold pleaded with FIFA on Monday to postpone his team's intercontinental playoff for the World Cup because many of his players and backroom staff are stranded by the growing Iran war.
The Iraqis are due to face either Suriname or Bolivia on March 31 in the Mexican city of Monterrey for a place in the World Cup finals, but with Iraqi airspace closed until April 1, Arnold's squad is unable to gather or travel.
"If the game goes ahead in Mexico we have the difficulties of getting out of Baghdad," Arnold, an Australian, told CNN.
"About 60% of my players play in Iraq, all my backroom staff live in Iraq, all my medical staff live in Qatar and we're having trouble getting Mexican visas at this moment," he added.
Arnold said he had already been forced to cancel a training camp in the United States.
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