Iraq qualifies for the 2026 World Cup

After a long absence of forty years, Iraq reached the FIFA World Cup finals, defeating Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday in Monterrey, Mexico, in the second leg of the intercontinental playoff.

Second time in history

This is the second time in its history that Iraq has participated in the World Cup, after the 1986 finals in Mexico, where it was eliminated in the group stage. Bolivia, on the other hand, failed to return to the World Cup after a 32-year absence, missing out on its fourth appearance.

Ali Al-Hammadi (10) and Ayman Hussein (53) scored for Iraq, which became the last of the 48 teams to qualify for the finals, while young Moisés Paniagua (38) scored for Bolivia.