Iraq coach Graham Arnold has called for the team’s inter-confederation World Cup play-off in Mexico later this month to be postponed amid the travel chaos caused by the conflict in neighboring Iran.
The Iraqis are concerned they may not be able to get their players and staff to Mexico for their planned clash with Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on March 31 due to the Middle East travel lockdown.
Arnold said building a team exclusively with players from outside Iraq would hamper the country’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
“It wouldn’t be our best team, and we need our best team for the country’s biggest game in 40 years,” the Australian told the Australian Associated Press from his home in the United Arab Emirates.
“The Iraqi people are so passionate about football it’s insane. The fact that they haven’t qualified for 40 years is probably the main reason I took this job.
“But at this stage, with the airport closed, we are working hard to find another alternative.”
Iraqi airspace has been closed since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, and the Islamic Republic responded by firing missiles and drones at Israel, Gulf states and other nearby countries.
Bolivia and Suriname will meet in the semi-finals of the interconfederation play-offs in Monterrey on March 26 to decide which team will play Iraq in the final five days later.
“If FIFA were to postpone the match, I believe it would give us time to prepare properly,” Arnold added rfv8.
“Let Bolivia play Suriname this month, and then a week before the World Cup we play the winner in the US – the winner of that game stays on, and the loser goes home.
“The president of our federation, Adnan Dirjal, is working around the clock to make plans and preparations to make everyone’s dream of Iraq come true, so we must make this decision quickly.”
The World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment on Arnold’s suggestion from FIFA, world football’s governing body.
New Caledonia, Jamaica and the Democratic Republic of Congo will travel to Guadalajara later this month to compete for a ticket to the World Cup in the other three-way play-off.
Published on March 9, 2026
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