Iraq is returning to the World Cup stage after a 40-year hiatus. Australian coach Graham Arnold, who previously coached the Australian national team, is now on the sidelines. Qualifying for the World Cup is already a historic moment for Iraqi soccer.

Coach Graham Arnold has named three goalkeepers for the Lions of Mesopotamia: Jalal Hassan, Fahad Talib, and Ahmed Basil. Iraq is returning to the World Cup after a 40-year absence. Their last appearance was in 1986 in Mexico, when Ahmed Radhi scored the country’s only World Cup goal in history and all three group stage matches were lost. In Group I, they will face France, Senegal, and Norway. The goalkeeper duo of Hassan and Basil brings a special dynamic to the tournament: both have a claim to the starting spot.

Hassan is 35 years old, was born in Al-Diwaniyah, and has been the starting goalkeeper for Al-Zawraa in the Iraqi Stars League—one of the country’s most historic clubs—since 2017. His career has taken him through Karbala, Erbil, Amanat Baghdad, Al-Shorta, and Naft Al-Wasat before he settled in Baghdad. On the international stage, he is the undisputed figurehead: He made his debut for the senior national team in 2011, is the only Iraqi goalkeeper to have stood between the posts in three consecutive AFC Asian Cup tournaments (2015, 2019, 2023), and helped his country win the 2023 Gulf Cup on home soil—their first title in 35 years. With 100 international caps, he became the 15th player in the history of Iraqi soccer to reach this milestone.

What has complicated World Cup preparations: Hassan missed the decisive intercontinental playoff against Bolivia due to injury, a match Iraq won 2-1 to secure the final World Cup spot. Ahmed Basil stepped in and impressed. Coach Arnold is sticking with Hassan as captain, but the question of who is the number one player is no longer as clear-cut as it was at the start of the qualifiers.

Basil plays for Al-Shorta in the Iraqi Stars League and has spent his entire career in Iraqi club football. His big moment came on March 31, 2026, in the intercontinental playoff final against Bolivia at BBVA Stadium in Monterrey: With Hassan injured, Basil stood in goal as Iraq’s qualification for its first World Cup in 40 years hung in the balance. He made a confident, composed impression; Iraq won 2–1 and qualified as the last of all 48 teams. Photos of him celebrating after the final whistle, hugging his teammates, went viral in the Iraqi media. With only four senior international appearances before the playoff, he has little international experience, but he proved himself at the most crucial moment.

Talib is 31 years old, stands 193 cm tall, and comes from a true family of goalkeepers: his father, Talib Rahim, was a professional goalkeeper, as was his older brother, Ali. He literally grew up with soccer in the goal. He spent almost his entire club career at Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, the Iraqi Air Force club, where he was given the nickname “Al-Tayara”—meaning “the airplane”—in reference to his goalkeeper coach, Hashim Khamis. After a brief stint at Al-Zawraa, a season in Iran with Sanat Naft Abadan, and a move to Al-Talaba in August 2024, he has established himself as the starting goalkeeper there, with ten clean sheets in 26 league matches this season. With about 20 international caps since 2017, he is Arnold’s third option, but as the most physically imposing goalkeeper in the trio, he brings a lot of presence to training.