Iraq national football team

As early as 1923, an Iraqi team known as Baghdad XI, controlled by the Baghdad Football Association, started to play matches against British Army teams.[3] The Baghdad FA soon disbanded and it was not until 8 October 1948 that the Iraq Football Association was founded. The Iraq FA joined FIFA in 1950 and on 2 May 1951, Iraq played their first match: a 1–1 draw to a team named Basra XI.[3]

Iraq's first ever official international game came in the opening game of the 1957 Pan Arab Games in Beirut where Iraq drew 3–3 to Morocco with goals from Ammo Baba, Youra Eshaya and Fakhri Mohammed Salman.[3] One of the members of Iraq's first national team was Youra Eshaya, who in 1954 became the first Iraqi footballer to play abroad and in Europe for English Football League side Bristol Rovers.

In 1962, Iraq appointed their first foreign manager, Romanian coach Cornel Drăgușin. Iraq won their first trophy in 1964 when they hosted and won the Arab Nations Cup, winning three and drawing one of their four games. The following year, they retained their Arab Nations Cup title, beating Syria 2–1 in the final.[3]

In 1972, Iraq played at their first ever AFC Asian Cup but failed to win a game in the tournament. In March 1973, Iraq played their first ever FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. They finished second in their group, a point behind Australia, therefore failing to qualify for the next round. In the remaining years of the 1970s, Iraq reached the second round of the Asian Games (1974), lost the Arabian Gulf Cup final (1976), finished fourth at the AFC Asian Cup (1976), finished fourth in the Asian Games (1978) and finally hosted and won the Arabian Gulf Cup (1979).[4] The 1976 Asian Cup would be the last Asian Cup that Iraq appeared in for the next 20 years, as they withdrew from the next four editions.

The 1980s was arguably Iraq's most successful period in their history. They started the decade off disappointingly, being knocked out in the first round of qualifiers for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. In 1982, they won the gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games. In 1984, Iraq won the Arabian Gulf Cup. The following year, they won the 1985 Arab Nations Cup and also won the gold medal at the 1985 Pan Arab Games.

Iraq were seeded into the first round of qualifiers where they faced Qatar and Jordan. Iraq topped Group 1B with 6 points, and advanced to the second round. Iraq faced United Arab Emirates in two legs. Iraq defeated UAE 3–2 in Dubai. Iraq lost with 2–1 to UAE in the second leg. Iraq won 4–4 aggregate on away goals and advanced to the final round. In the final round, Iraq tied Syria 0–0 in Damascus. Iraq defeated Syria 3–1 in the second leg in Taif. Iraq won 3–1 on aggregate and qualified to the 1986 FIFA World Cup

At their first game of the Group B at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Iraq played well against Paraguay, losing narrowly 1–0 despite scoring a goal that was controversially disallowed by the referee. Iraq recorded their first World Cup goal in the second game, scoring against Belgium in a 1–2 defeat despite having ten men, with Ahmed Radhi scoring a goal for Iraq. Iraq played against hosts Mexico in the third game, losing 1–0 and being eliminated from the World Cup.

In the following years, Iraq won the 1988 Arabian Gulf Cup and won the 1988 Arab Nations Cup. Overall, Iraq won nine competitions in the 1980s and played in their only World Cup, leading many to believe that this was the golden era of Iraqi football. In 1989, Iraq competed in qualifying for a berth in the 1990 World Cup finals, but they lost a crucial game against Qatar.

Following the Gulf War in 1990, Iraq was banned from participating in the Asian Games and in most Arab competitions, leading them to participate in friendly competitions instead.

In 1993, Iraq participated in qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and reached the final round but finished fourth in the group, missing out on a World Cup spot by two points. By drawing their last game with Japan 2–2, they denied the Japanese a place in the finals in a match referred to by the Japanese media as the Agony of Doha.[5]

Iraq participated in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, their first Asian Cup campaign for 20 years. They reached the quarter-finals but lost to the United Arab Emirates due to a golden goal scored by Abdulrahman Ibrahim. In 1996, Iraq was ranked 139th in the world, which is their worst FIFA ranking in their history.

In 1997, Iraq participated in qualifiers for the 1998 FIFA World Cup but were knocked out at the first round following two defeats to Kazakhstan.

This period is known as 'The Dark Era' as Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam Hussein, abused his control of Iraqi football and tortured players who played poorly, punishing them by sending them to prison, making them bathe in raw sewage and kick concrete balls, and shaving their heads among many other punishments.[6][7]

The 2000s was widely considered to be the rebirth and rise of one of Iraq's greatest football generation second only to the 1980s generation.

However, Iraq had a rocky beginning. It played in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup but were knocked out at the quarter-final stage again, this time by Japan in a 4–1 loss. Iraq reached the second round of 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification but lost five of their eight second-round games and therefore failed to make the finals. Iraq won their first ever WAFF Championship in 2002, beating Jordan 3–2 in the final after extra time despite being two goals down.

In 2004, Iraq once again reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup before getting knocked out by China. In the same year they were knocked out at the second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers by Uzbekistan.

Iraq were ranked as high as 39th in the World Rankings in October 2004 which is their highest ranking position in their history. The following year, Iraq won the gold medal in the West Asian Games by beating Syria in the final via a penalty shootout. In 2007, Iraq were knocked out at the group stage of the Arabian Gulf Cup. The exit from the Gulf Cup happened in very controversial circumstances as Iraq attempted to make an agreement with Saudi Arabia to draw the final game which would put both teams through to the next round; the Iraq manager Akram Salman told the Iraqi players not to win the game but the Saudi Arabian players were unaware of any agreement and went on to win the game and knock Iraq out of the cup.[8] Akram Salman was sacked and Jorvan Vieira appointed as head coach. Under him, Iraq reached the final of the WAFF Championship but lost 2–1 to Iran.

Iraq playing against Australia in Group A of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup; Iraq won the game 3–1 on their way to winning the cup.

In July 2007, Iraq kicked off their 2007 AFC Asian Cup campaign. The squad was made mainly of players that had finished fourth at the 2004 Olympic Games and finished second at the 2006 Asian Games. Vieira only had two months to prepare his team for the tournament, and the team suffered from very poor facilities. The Iraq FA struggled to provide the team with enough kits for the tournament and Iraq had not been able to play any previous games in their own country for security reasons and most of the players had had family members killed in the war.

The team started the tournament with a 1–1 draw against joint-hosts Thailand before producing one of the upsets of the tournament: a 3–1 win over favourites Australia. A draw with Oman followed to put Iraq into the quarter-finals where two goals from Younis Mahmoud against Vietnam put Iraq into the semi-finals for the second time in their history. They produced another big upset by knocking out Asian giants South Korea (who had thrashed Iraq 3–0 in a pre-tournament friendly) in the semis via a penalty shootout in which Noor Sabri made a crucial save. After the game, a suicide bomber killed 30 football fans who were celebrating the semi-final win over South Korea and this almost led to the Iraqi team withdrawing from the final, but they decided to go on in honour of the dead and produced yet another upset by defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final, a game that they dominated from start to finish and that was won by a Younis Mahmoud header. This tournament win is seen as one of the greatest upsets in international history as a war-torn country became international champions in what is described as one of sport's greatest 'fairytales'.[9][10]

Vieira stated during the final that he would resign after the Asian Cup.[11] He was replaced by Egil Olsen in September 2007.[12] Under Olsen, Iraq advanced to the third round of World Cup qualifiers, but after a 1–1 draw with China, the FA sacked Olsen and replaced him with Adnan Hamad.[13] Iraq failed to advance to the final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as a 1–0 defeat to Qatar saw them finish in third in the group. Following this, the Iraq FA decided to disband the team and sacked Hamad.[14]

Jorvan Vieira was reappointed in September 2008. After a disappointing 2009 Arabian Gulf Cup, Vieira was sacked and replaced by Bora Milutinovic.[15]

In 2009, Iraq participated in only their second FIFA tournament ever: the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which they qualified for by winning the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. They started the tournament with a 0–0 draw with hosts South Africa, before losing 1–0 to UEFA Euro 2008 winners Spain. Iraq drew the last game 0–0 with New Zealand and were knocked out.

On 20 November 2009, the FIFA Emergency Committee suspended the Iraq FA due to government interference;[16] the suspension was lifted on 19 March 2010.[17]

The Iraqi national team pose ahead of their 2019 AFC Asian Cup match against Iran in Dubai.

Wolfgang Sidka was appointed coach in August 2010 to lead Iraq in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.[18] Iraq reached the quarter finals, as they lost 1–0 to Australia. The match went into extra time with Harry Kewell heading in a goal in the 117th minute just inside the 18-yard box. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Iraq advanced to the third round but Sidka's contract was not renewed and he was succeeded by Zico in August 2011. Iraq topped the group in the third round, winning 5 of 6 games. However, halfway through the fourth round, Iraq only had 5 points and Zico resigned due to unpaid wages.[19]

Hakeem Shaker took over as interim coach and finished as runners-up in both the 2012 WAFF Championship and 2013 Arabian Gulf Cup. In February 2013, Vladimir Petrović was appointed for the remaining World Cup qualifiers, but lost all three matches and Iraq finished bottom of their group. Petrović was sacked in September 2013 and Hakeem Shaker was reappointed.[20]

On the last matchday, Iraq qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup by beating China 3–1. However, Iraq finished bottom of the group in the 2014 Arabian Gulf Cup leading to the sacking of Hakeem Shaker and the appointment of Radhi Shenaishil.

Iraq began the 2015 AFC Asian Cup campaign with a 1–0 win over Jordan. In the next match, Iraq faced Japan and lost the match 0–1. Iraq then beat Palestine 2–0 and qualified to knockout stage as the Group D runner-up behind Japan with six points. Iraq defeated Iran in the quarter-finals in penalties, 7–6, after the game ended 3–3 after 120 minutes of play. They faced South Korea in the semi-finals but lost 0–2 and failed to progress to the final. Iraq finished the AFC Asian Cup in fourth place, after losing 2–3 to United Arab Emirates in third place match.

After the tournament, Shenaishil returned to managing Qatar SC and Iraq appointed Akram Salman as manager but he was sacked in June 2015 after losing 4–0 to Japan in a friendly match.

Yahya Alwan was appointed in August 2015. Due to poor performances, Abdul-Ghani Shahad replaced him as interim coach for the final qualifier in March 2016. Shahad led Iraq to qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the final round. Radhi Shenaishil was appointed to lead Iraq in the final round. After losing five of their first seven games, Iraq were eliminated and Shenaishil was sacked.[21] Basim Qasim was appointed in May 2017 to lead Iraq for the remaining qualifiers. The FA decided not to renew his contract in August 2018.

On 3 September 2018, Srečko Katanec was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract.[22] Under Katanec, Iraq reached the round of 16 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as they lost 1–0 to eventual champions Qatar.[23]

Under Katanec, Iraq leads the group in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, having won three of their five matches including a 2–1 win against Iran.[24]

Iraq continued their great form in the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup, reaching the semifinals by beating Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

The Iraqi national football team kit has previously been manufactured by brands such as Adidas, Puma, Nike, Diadora, Jack & Jones, Lotto, Peak and Givova and its current manufacturer is Umbro.[25]

Period	Kit manufacturer
1984–1986	Umbro
1986–1994	Adidas
1996	Puma
2000	Patrick
2003–2004	Jako
2004–2006	Jack & Jones
2006	Diadora
2006	Lotto
2007	Adidas
2007	Umbro
2008–2014	Peak
2014	Adidas
2014–2019	Jako
2019–2020	Givova
2020–	Umbro

Iraq kits throughout history have usually featured the flag of Iraq on them, although the coat of arms of Iraq and the Iraq Football Association logo have both appeared on kits in the past. The national team has occasionally had its own unique logo, the first of which was in 1983. This logo was based on the Iraq flag, with Iraqi written at the top of the crest.[26] From 2000 to 2002, the national team's logo featured a vertical flag with the name Iraq above in green Arabic text. In the 2005 West Asian Games, the team wore a new logo with the red band of the flag appearing in a large semi-circle shape,[27] and in 2007, Iraq briefly reverted to using the logo that they had used from 2000 to 2002. On 23 October 2020, the national team's current logo was revealed, and a star features above the crest to commemorate the nation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup victory.[28]

• 
  1983
• 
  2000–2002 and 2007
• 
  2005

Due to geographical location, Iraq maintains strong rivalries with many neighbours.

Iraq's main and traditional rival has been Iran, and they are often considered to be two of the greatest football teams in the Middle East and Asia with one of the greatest rivalries. At the early stage, Iran had proved to be more dominant than Iraq, remaining undefeated from 1964 until 1993. In the contemporary era, especially during the reign of Saddam Hussein, the two countries had bad relations and fought the Iran–Iraq War for eight years.[29][30] Iraqis have considered any matches against Iran as a must-win encounter and are known to treat it differently from any other football matches.[31] Iraq has played 28 matches against Iran with 6 victories, 7 draws, and 15 losses.

Iraq's other rival is Saudi Arabia, and matches between the two teams also draw significant attention from Iraqi fans. The beginnings of the footballing rivalry between them dates back to the 1970s, but it was only after the 1990s that the rivalry between the two Arab nations truly developed since it was previously overshadowed by Iraq's rivalries with Iran and Kuwait.[32] One of these reasons for the rivalry to develop is due to the bitter Gulf War, where Iraq fought against Saudi Arabia over Kuwait, an ally of Saudi Arabia.[33] These encounters have also been marred with various controversies and hostilities, such as the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup hosting rights, where Iraq was stripped from hosting with the tournament instead being moved to Bahrain, a move which was believed by Iraqis as a deliberate act by Saudi Arabia to remove Iraq's home advantage.[33] Before that, Iraq was also banned from hosting home games against Saudi Arabia due to the Gulf War.[33] Iraq has played 39 matches against Saudi Arabia with 17 victories, 11 draws, and 11 losses.

Iraq's rivalry with Kuwait was once considered as the Arab world's greatest football rivalry of all-time; dubbed 'The Arabic El Clasico' until being taken over by Iraq's rivalry with Saudi Arabia due to Kuwait's decline.[34] The rivalry began in the mid-1970s. Because of the Gulf War, Iraq and Kuwait were in complete avoidance and never met for more than 15 years until 2005. Iraq has played 36 matches against Kuwait with 16 victories, 10 draws, and 10 losses.

Iraqi fans celebrating Iraq winning the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Iraq national team supporters are known for chanting "O Victorious Baghdad" during the Iraqi team's matches.

Another famous chant is "the first goal is coming" ("هسه يجي الاول") which is chanted in the beginning of the match. A succeeding chant is "the second goal is coming" ("هسه يجي الثاني"); this is usually chanted repeatedly after Iraq score a goal to motivate the players to score another.

Basra International Stadium during the second opening friendly match between Al-Zawraa and Zamalek in 2013.

Since 1980, FIFA imposed bans on six occasions that prevented Iraq from hosting competitive international games.

The first ban was imposed in 1980 after an Olympic qualifying play-off between Iraq and Kuwait in Baghdad, where the match referee was attacked by enraged home fans and members of the Iraqi team after the Malaysian official's decision to award a match changing penalty to the Kuwaitis that led to Iraq losing 3–2. The ban was lifted in 1982.[35]

Around the same time, the Iran–Iraq War started and the ban was imposed again. Iraq played their qualifying home games at a neutral venue and still qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and three Olympic Games (Moscow, Los Angeles and Seoul). The ban was lifted in 1988, when the war ended.

Due to the Gulf War, FIFA banned Iraq again from 1990 till 1995. Iraq played at home at the 1998 World Cup qualifiers against Pakistan and Kazakhstan for the first time since 1990.

Iraq played the 2002 World Cup qualifiers at home against Iran (first time since the Iraq-Iran War) Bahrain, and Thailand in the Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad. Saudi Arabia refused to play in Iraq because of the tensions with Saddam Hussein.

The Iraq War in 2003 forced Iraq to play their home matches outside the country for security reasons, and so home games were held in Jordan, Iran, Qatar or the UAE.

Iraq resumed playing on home soil on 10 July 2009, winning a friendly 3–0 against Palestine in Erbil. Iraq played the same opponents three days later, in Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, this time winning 4–0 in front of a crowd of over 50,000. The same month, the AFC Executive Committee approved the Franso Hariri Stadium as venue for international matches and clubs in continental tournaments.[36]

On 23 July 2011, Iraq played a FIFA World Cup qualifier on home ground for the first time since 2001. They played against Yemen in front of a crowd of 20,000 people in the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil. However, on 23 September 2011, FIFA re-imposed the ban due to fears over security and a breach of safety regulations in the match with Jordan.

Two years later, on 22 March 2013, FIFA lifted the ban on international friendlies in Iraqi stadiums. Four days later, Iraq played their first international friendly match in Baghdad since 2009 against Syria in front of a crowd of over 50,000 people in the Al-Shaab Stadium and won the game 2–1. Two months later, they played another friendly at the Al-Shaab Stadium, this time against Liberia. On 3 July 2013, FIFA re-imposed the ban due to a massive surge in nationwide violence, barely three months after world football's governing body gave Baghdad the go-ahead.

On 9 May 2017, FIFA lifted the ban partially on international friendlies in the cities of Basra, Karbala, and Erbil. Iraq played their first international game in Basra on 1 June 2017, beating Jordan 1–0. After successfully hosting friendlies, on 16 March 2018, FIFA announced the lifting of the ban on competitive matches in the three cities.[37] However, following the outbreak of 2019 Iraqi protests, FIFA once again imposed home matches ban on Iraq.[38]

Key

The list shown below shows the Iraq national football team all-time international record against opposing nations.

As of 27 January 2021

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Last Win	Confederation
Afghanistan	2	2	0	0	7	1	+6	14 April 1975	AFC
Algeria	7	3	4	0	5	2	+3	23 February 1978	CAF
Argentina	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4		CONMEBOL
Australia	11	2	2	7	8	14	−6	7 June 2008	AFC
Azerbaijan	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	15 November 2009	UEFA
Bahrain	31	13	13	5	46	26	+20	26 November 2010	AFC
Belgium	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1		UEFA
Bolivia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		CONMEBOL
Botswana	1	0	1	0	1	1	0		CAF
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6		CONMEBOL
Cambodia	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	15 October 2019	AFC
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6		CONMEBOL
China PR	17	9	2	6	20	18	+2	24 December 2018	AFC
Chinese Taipei	5	5	0	0	18	3	+15	17 November 2015	AFC
Congo	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	20 August 1992	CAF
Cyprus	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1		UEFA
DR Congo	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	31 March 2015	CAF
Egypt	7	0	3	4	1	7	−6		CAF
Estonia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0		UEFA
Ethiopia	1	1	0	0	13	0	+13	18 August 1992	CAF
Finland	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	7 February 1979	UEFA
Guinea	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1		CAF
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	10 October 2019	AFC
India	6	4	2	0	11	2	+9	11 November 2010	AFC
Indonesia	7	6	1	0	17	3	+14	19 November 2013	AFC
Iran	24	6	6	12	22	32	−10	14 November 2019	AFC
Japan	12	2	3	7	8	18	−10	28 November 1982	AFC
Jordan	45	25	11	9	66	41	+25	26 March 2019	AFC
Kazakhstan	4	0	2	2	4	7	−3		UEFA
Kenya	2	2	0	0	4	1	+2	5 October 2017	CAF
Kyrgyzstan	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8	27 May 2000	AFC
Kuwait	36	16	10	10	53	44	+9	27 January 2021	AFC
Liberia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1		CAF
Lebanon	16	10	6	0	25	7	+18	30 July 2019	AFC
Libya	11	7	3	1	17	6	+11	29 August 1999	CAF
Macau	2	2	0	0	13	0	+13	21 April 2001	AFC
Malaysia	6	3	3	0	9	3	+6	20 October 2003	AFC
Mauritania	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	8 July 1985	CAF
Mexico	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1		CONCACAF
Moldova	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	26 August 1992	UEFA
Morocco	7	2	4	1	6	3	+3	16 August 1985	CAF
Myanmar	4	4	0	0	13	0	+7	22 October 2003	AFC
North Korea	8	5	1	2	10	5	+5	21 February 2014	AFC
Nepal	3	3	0	0	16	3	+13	23 April 2001	AFC
New Zealand	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6	24 March 1973	OFC
Oman	24	12	6	6	41	21	+20	18 December 2012	AFC
Pakistan	9	7	1	1	40	6	+34	22 October 2007	AFC
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1		CONMEBOL
Palestine	16	13	3	0	37	6	+31	2 August 2019	AFC
Peru	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2		CONMEBOL
Poland	5	1	2	2	3	7	−4	29 February 1980	UEFA
Qatar	32	14	9	9	39	31	+8	26 November 2019	AFC
Romania	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		UEFA
Saudi Arabia	35	16	9	10	53	31	+22	28 February 2018	AFC
Sierra Leone	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	23 May 2012	CAF
Singapore	6	5	0	1	20	5	+15	29 February 2012	AFC
South Africa	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		CAF
South Korea	19	2	11	6	16	21	−5	18 October 1984	AFC
Spain	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1		UEFA
Syria	30	16	9	5	43	23	+20	20 March 2019	AFC
Sudan	2	0	2	0	3	3	0		CAF
Tajikistan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	3 August 1999	AFC
Thailand	17	10	5	2	45	18	+27	31 August 2017	AFC
Trinidad and Tobago	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2		CONCACAF
Turkey	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		UEFA
Turkmenistan	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	22 July 2004	AFC
Tunisia	7	0	3	4	4	10	−6		CAF
Uganda	2	0	2	0	2	2	0		CAF
United Arab Emirates	28	10	11	7	40	27	+13	29 November 2019	AFC
Uzbekistan	10	2	3	5	7	10	−3	17 November 2020	AFC
Vietnam	4	3	1	0	7	3	+4	8 January 2019	AFC
Yemen	11	9	2	0	26	4	+22	11 August 2019	AFC

Below is a chart of Iraq's FIFA ranking from 1993 till now.[39]

• The following 23 players were called up for the International Friendly.
• Match dates: 27 January 2021.
• Opposition:  Kuwait.
• Caps and goals correct as of: 27 January 2021, after the match against  Kuwait.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Jalal Hassan	(1991-05-18) 18 May 1991	54	0	Al-Zawraa
	1GK	Mohammed Hameed	(1993-01-24) 24 January 1993	36	0	Al-Shorta
	1GK	Fahad Talib	(1994-10-21) 21 October 1994	4	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	2DF	Ahmed Ibrahim	(1992-02-25) 25 February 1992	101	4	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	2DF	Dhurgham Ismail	(1994-05-24) 24 May 1994	54	3	Al-Zawraa
	2DF	Alaa Mhawi	(1996-06-03) 3 June 1996	43	0	Al-Shorta
	2DF	Ali Faez	(1994-09-09) 9 September 1994	31	3	Al-Shorta
	2DF	Saad Natiq	(1994-03-19) 19 March 1994	29	0	Al-Shorta
	2DF	Mustafa Mohammed	(1998-01-14) 14 January 1998	12	0	Al-Zawraa
	2DF	Maitham Jabbar	(2000-11-10) 10 November 2000	11	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	2DF	Faisal Jassim	(1991-10-01) 1 October 1991	4	0	Naft Al-Wasat
	2DF	Hassan Raed	(2000-09-23) 23 September 2000	3	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	3MF	Humam Tariq	(1996-02-10) 10 February 1996	68	3	Ismaily
	3MF	Amjad Attwan	(1997-03-12) 12 March 1997	50	1	Al-Shorta
	3MF	Hussein Ali	(1996-11-29) 29 November 1996	34	4	Al-Zawraa
	3MF	Ibrahim Bayesh	(2000-05-01) 1 May 2000	17	3	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	3MF	Mazin Fayyadh	(1997-04-02) 2 April 1997	13	1	Al-Shorta
	3MF	Mohammed Qasim	(1996-12-06) 6 December 1996	10	2	Al-Shorta
	3MF	Sajad Jassim	(1996-07-01) 1 July 1996	2	0	Naft Al-Wasat
	4FW	Aymen Hussein	(1996-03-22) 22 March 1996	33	3	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	4FW	Mohammed Dawood	(2000-11-22) 22 November 2000	6	1	Al-Naft
	4FW	Sherko Karim	(1996-05-25) 25 May 1996	1	0	Erbil
	4FW	Murad Mohammed	(1997-04-01) 1 April 1997	1	0	Al-Shorta

The following players have also been called up to the Iraq squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Ali Adnan	(1993-12-19) 19 December 1993	75	6	Vancouver Whitecaps	v.  United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2021
DF	Rebin Sulaka	(1992-04-12) 12 April 1992	24	0	Levski Sofia	v.  United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2021
MF	Safaa Hadi	(1998-10-14) 14 October 1998	28	0	Krylia Sovetov Samara	v.  United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2021
MF	Sharif Abdul-Kadhim	(1996-06-07) 7 June 1996	2	0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	v.  United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2021
MF	Mahmoud Khalil	(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995	1	0	Al-Karkh	v.  United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2021
MF	Bashar Resan	(1996-12-22) 22 December 1996	34	2	Qatar	v.  Uzbekistan, 17 November 2020
MF	Mohammed Ridha Jalil	(2000-02-17) 17 February 2000	4	0	Al-Zawraa	v.  Uzbekistan, 17 November 2020
MF	Mohammed Mezher	(1998-03-24) 24 March 1998	2	0	Al-Shorta	v.  Uzbekistan, 17 November 2020
FW	Alaa Abdul-Zahra INJ	(1987-12-22) 22 December 1987	119	16	Al-Zawraa	v.  Kuwait, 27 January 2021
FW	Mohanad Ali	(2000-06-20) 20 June 2000	30	15	Al-Sailiya	v.  Uzbekistan, 17 November 2020
SUS Player suspended INJ Player injured RET Player retired from the national team WD Player withdrew for non-injury related reasons

Younis Mahmoud is Iraq's all-time most capped player, having played in 148 official matches.

As of 5 December 2019[41]

Players in bold are still available for selection.

Hussein Saeed is Iraq's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored 78 goals in 137 official matches.

As of 5 December 2019[41]

Players in bold are still available for selection

• AFC Asian Cup
  • Champions: 2007
• Asian Games
  • Gold medal: 1982

• WAFF Championship
  • Champions: 2002
• West Asian Games
  • Gold medal: 2005
• Arab Nations Cup
  • Champions: 1964, 1966, 1985, 1988
• Pan Arab Games
  • Gold medal: 1985
• Arabian Gulf Cup
  • Champions: 1979, 1984, 1988

• International Friendship Championship
  • Champions: 2019
• Al-Quds Cup
  • Champions: 2018 (shared)
• UAE International Cup
  • Champions: 2009
• Peace Cup
  • Champions: 2003
• Friendship Tournament
  • Champions: 1999
• Nehru Cup
  • Champions: 1995, 1997
• Merdeka Tournament
  • Champions: 1981, 1995
• Peace and Friendship Cup
  • Champions: 1989
• Merlion Cup
  • Champions: 1984
• Tripoli Fair Tournament
  • Champions: 1967