Blessed with a young core and a passionate legion of fans, coach Jesus Casas is looking to make history and take Iraq back to the World Cup.
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Iraq are targeting a first FIFA World Cup berth in 40 years
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Coach Jesus Casas has been discussing their qualifying campaign
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Spaniard believes the young core of his side has “huge potential”
Although Iraq’s footballing calendar for this year isn’t over yet (they will be defending their Gulf Cup title from 21 December onwards), their Spanish coach Jesus Casas is taking stock of a 2024 which has seen the Middle Eastern nation enter the chase for the goal everyone’s talking about: reaching the World Cup.
In the November international window, a 0-0 draw at home to Jordan and a 1-0 win away at Oman saw the Lions of Mesopotamia move up to second in Group B of the third round of Asian qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 26™. A runners-up spot would see them automatically seal a place in the tournament in North America.
That’s what Casas has set in his sights for Iraq, and if they were to qualify it would be only the country’s second appearance at a World Cup since their debut in the 1986 edition, which saw them head home after losing all three of their matches.
Looking ahead to March 2025, Iraq face two further qualifiers before the final two matchdays in June. The Spanish tactician spoke to FIFA to cast a critical eye over his time at the helm of the Iraqi national team, a role he has held since the start of November 2022.
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FIFA: You’ve been in charge for two years now. What are your thoughts on your time in the job?
Jesus Casas: It’s been pretty positive, all the more so given that coaches historically haven’t lasted long in this role. To have made it to two years in charge is a real milestone. It’s all thanks to the results we’ve picked up. We started off by winning the Gulf Cup [in January 2023] which made us real contenders. Since then, we’ve only been beaten by far better national teams in friendlies, as well as our Asian Cup elimination. That’s been arguably the biggest disappointment so far. Having said that, the overall feeling is positive, from both my point of view and the Iraq Football Association’s.
A little over a year ago Iraq started their quest to reach he World Cup, winning every game in the second round. It couldn’t have gone much better for your side…
Our first aim was to finish in the top two in order to reach the next round and qualify for the Asian Cup, while our second was to climb the FIFA rankings and being handed a more favourable draw in the following round as a result. We were really happy to make that happen. It wasn’t easy, but it really boosted Iraq’s reputation.
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In the third round, your only loss so far was an unlucky one against Korea Republic, and you currently sit second. How do you evaluate things so far?
Indeed, and maybe the draw against Kuwait, which was a disappointment, should be factored into the equation. However, we were a man down from early on and, accounting for added time, we had to play for almost 100 minutes with a player fewer than them.
That draw wasn’t something we had counted on. Drawing against Jordan at home wasn’t a surprise because they’re fighting for second place with us, but it’s true to say that I wasn’t very happy with our performance because the pressure got to us.
We’ve got a clearly defined playing style which has seen us pick up some great results, but during this qualifying stage we’ve struggled to find our rhythm at home against Oman, Palestine and Jordan. Fortunately we found our spark away to Oman.
We’re happy because we head into March with a two-point cushion. Although I believe our group will go right to the wire on the final matchday, when we face Jordan away. Hopefully we can secure qualification earlier, but every game is tough.
South Korea – the favourites – dropped four points against Palestine. It looked like Jordan would easily overcome Kuwait but they ended up drawing and barely holding on at the end. We haven’t won any match comfortably – it’s always by a narrow margin. You’ve got to take things step by step.
You face Kuwait and travel to face Palestine in March. Given Jordan face pool leaders Korea Republic, are you targeting six points?
Getting six points in March is a vital part of our plans. It would mean we could head into the final matches with more breathing space, should Jordan lose to South Korea. We’d go into June with a real advantage, but it might be South Korea [begin] feeling the pressure if Iraq and Jordan can cut the deficit. It all comes down to those six points. Whatever happens elsewhere, we’d be in a great position.
What’s it like leading at team in the Basra International Stadium?
The Iraqi supporters are absolutely football-mad. In our recent match against Jordan, we arrived at the stadium two hours ahead of kick-off and the place was already 80-90 per cent full with the fans cheering non-stop. The pressure is a good thing, but sometimes that level of expectation has weighed on us in these first few third round matches. However, we’ve got no complaints because it makes such a big difference. Like I always say, it feels like we’re ahead before a ball has even been kicked.
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Given that only four of your starting XI against Oman were older than 24, the future for your side looks bright?
My decision to stay here, despite being presented with an offer to leave this summer, was primarily due to the commitment I had with my players, but also because we are a team with huge potential. Aside from the youngsters who started the game there were others absent such as Montader Madjed, who’s only 19, Marko Farji, and 22-year-old [Ali] Al-Hamadi who’s plying his trade in the Premier League, but didn’t play this time round. There are also players from the U23s who are yet to make the step up. Our squad is full of young talent, but also a really young starting eleven, and we hope that they give us something to cheer about.
One of the stars of your side is former Manchester United prodigy Zidane Iqbal. Tell us about him?
As well as his talent on the field, his personality really stands out. He doesn’t shy away in attack – he’s a bold player who’s not afraid to take on the responsibility of making things happen from deep. However, sometimes players can be rushed through development stages. I think that, because of his pure talent, he was hastily fast-tracked and didn’t end up honing his physique nor his defensive abilities. He has risen through the ranks thanks to his natural ability, but at the top level you need much more. Making him an all-round footballer is very much on our to-do list. Zidane is fantastic in attack, but in order to feature regularly for his – something he hasn’t managed so far – he needs to improve in other areas.
Finally, are you dreaming of making World Cup 26, or do you tend not to look so far ahead?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. Even though we have a game-by-game approach, when you’ve got a two-point cushion from third place, and we’ve got games in March against sides we know we can beat, you can’t help but start thinking and crunching the numbers. This is especially the case as I’m really grateful to this country and this team. I know that for Iraq it would be a historic feat to make their first World Cup in 40 years. It would be a dream come true to make the World Cup finals and quite the accomplishment for me and my coaching staff. When we took the job our aim was very clear – qualify for the World Cup. As our results and performances bring us closer, the more people on the street can’t stop talking about it.
