The Iraq national team coach has taken steps to protect his players from the news of the war in the Middle East ahead of their World Cup 2026 qualifying play-off against Bolivia, he explained on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico.
“Representing 46 million people is unique. A big part of my job has been on the mental side. The players need to focus on themselves, think about their families, a few friends, but not the entire country, otherwise it’s too much pressure,” said Graham Arnold during a press conference.
Iraq faces Bolivia on Tuesday night in Monterrey (early Wednesday morning at 05:00 Paris time) with hopes of qualifying for the World Cup being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada this summer (June 11 – July 19), which would be a first for the country since 1986.
The team’s preparation for this decisive match has been greatly disrupted for the past month by the war in the Middle East triggered by Israel and the United States against Iran, with repercussions throughout the region. Most of the squad managed to reach Mexico around ten days ago after a three-day journey from Baghdad, first by road to reach Jordan.
“It has been a very difficult month,” emphasized the 62-year-old Australian coach in front of about 70 journalists at the Monterrey stadium.
“I prefer not to talk about it now (the war in the Middle East). I tried to detach my players from it. There’s a lot going on in the Middle East, if they think about it too much, it will damage their brains. They know what they have to do for their country. The last 20 days have been very difficult for them, but now they are relaxed,” he added.
Graham Arnold believes that qualification for a World Cup can “change a country and its perception.”
“In Iraq, there is an obsession with football, it’s the main sport. It’s an honor to work with these players, I tried to be a father figure this week because I have experienced these playoff situations with Australia,” he continued.
