Iraq

Iraq

The Iraq national football team, known as the Lions of Mesopotamia, is governed by the Iraqi Football Association and affiliated with the AFC. Iraq won the AFC Asian Cup in 1964 and again memorably in 2007, defeating Saudi Arabia in the final — a tournament held in Southeast Asia and marked by extraordinary emotional significance given the turmoil the country was experiencing at the time. Iraq qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The team has produced notable players including Ahmed Radhi, who scored Iraq's only World Cup goal. Despite decades of conflict and political instability affecting football development, Iraq has remained competitive in Asian qualifiers and has seen growth in domestic league quality, fostering new generations of talented players ready to compete regionally.