Khaberni - Graham Arnold, the coach of the Iraqi national team, has made an urgent appeal to the International Football Association "FIFA" requesting the postponement of his team's match in the world qualifying playoff for the World Cup due to the disruptions caused by the escalating war in Iran.
The Iraqi national team is facing numerous logistical problems ahead of the playoff match against Suriname or Bolivia scheduled for March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.
With the airspace closed until April 1st due to escalating conflict, Arnold's team—mainly composed of local league players—is unable to fully assemble.
Players have not obtained travel visas to participate in the playoff in Mexico, due to the closure of foreign embassies, and Arnold is stuck in the United Arab Emirates due to the conflict.
Arnold, a former coach of the Australian national team, told the Australian Associated Press: "Please help us concerning this match, because we are currently
struggling to get our players out of Iraq".
The disturbances have already led to the postponement of the training camp that was planned to be held in Houston. Arnold said pushing a team consisting only of foreign-based players is not a viable option.
He said: "It will not be our best team, and we want to have our best team available for the country's biggest match in the last 40 years".
Demanding the Postponement of the Playoff Schedule
Arnold proposed a strategic delay of the playoff matches schedule, where he called on FIFA to allow the Suriname and Bolivia teams to play their preliminary match this
month, with the final playoff match being postponed to one week before the start of the World Cup 2026.
Arnold said: "In my opinion, if FIFA postpones the match, it would give us adequate time to prepare. In my opinion, this also gives FIFA more time to determine
what Iran will do".
He added: "If the Iranian team withdraws we will qualify for the World Cup, and this will give the Emirati team, which we defeated in the qualifiers, the opportunity to prepare
to face Bolivia or Suriname".
He confirmed: "Adnan Darjal, the president of the Iraqi Football Federation, is working all the time trying to plan and prepare for everyone's dream in Iraq, so we need to make this decision quickly".
