Iraq will replace Jesus Casas with former Australian boss Graham Arnold as head coach ahead of Crunch World Cup qualifiers.
Former Australian manager, Graham Arnold, has been confirmed as Iraq’s new head coach by the national football federation ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Jordan.
Arnold’s appointment was announced on social media by the Iraq Football Association. The Iraq Football Association has welcomed a photo by officials of the national organization that a 61-year-old child is being welcomed in Baghdad.
“We are pleased to announce Graham Arnold as the new head coach of the Iraqi national team,” the federal stated in an Instagram post. “Welcome to the Lion in Mesopotamia!”
Arnold will replace Jesus Casas at the helm after the Spaniards set off in March in Asia’s third round of the 2026 World Cup, following a 2-1 defeat to Palestine in March.
As a result, the Iraqis came in third in Group B rankings. Four points of the Korean leader and one point drifted behind the Jordanians.
Welcome to Baghdad
Our new Australian head coach, Graham Arnold, has arrived in the Iraqi capital! pic.twitter.com/ah1iybrohv
– Iraq national team (@iraqnt_en) May 9, 2025
The top two finishers of each of the three Asian qualifying groups will automatically advance to the World Cup, with third and fourth teams moving on to another round of qualifying.
Arnold’s first match will take place in Basra on June 5th with the Koreans before bringing his new team to Amman to face Jordan five days later. Iraq is eager to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
With this appointment, Arnold will return to international management more than seven months after he stood as Australia’s head coach.
Arnold, who led the Australian to the knockout round of the 2022 World Cup with a six-year spell in charge, left after a start that was not inspired by the current stages of qualifying that his team lost to Bahrain in September and painted alongside Indonesia.
He was replaced by former Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovich, who led Sakkaru to second place in Group C in Asia’s qualifying round ahead of the already qualified match between Japan and Saudi Arabia in June.
