2026 World Cup | Which Iraq players could pose a threat to France?

As France look to continue their winning start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we look at which Iraq players could pose a threat to Didier Deschamps’ side.

Star player

Striker Aymen Hussein has gone from being compared to a motionless plank of wood, having his Sarutobi Sasuke ponytail mocked, facing ridicule from a political satirist, to scoring the goal that qualified Iraq to their first World Cup in 40 years. “It was a dream I’ve lived since childhood. The feelings of 46 million Iraqis were with me as we worked to achieve the dream we shared,” he said. It was a testament to a man who lost his father and brother to the turmoil after the 2003 US-led invasion. He had faced a barrage of criticism and was seen as a laughing stock for his misses, and in one game, Iraq’s coach came onto the pitch to instruct him not to take a penalty!

During the last World Cup qualifying campaign, after a run of poor results, Iraqi fans turned against the team, with the social media hashtag, “This team doesn’t represent me.” Aymen was one of the players targeted, with the forward even physically confronting fans after one qualifier. But he quickly turned things around. After scoring the winner in Monterrey, the striker was given a diplomatic passport, three 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe cars, a villa and an apartment, a 21-karat gold iPhone 17 Pro Max, and a 200-square-metre plot of land. He is now among the top-five all-time top Iraqi goalscorers and the highest-paid player in the Iraq Stars League at Al-Karma.

One to watch

There is online footage of a tiny Marko Farji with the ball at his feet going past players and scoring. Those were his early years, training on a field with his father in his home city, Grimstad, Norway, where at just five, he “fell in love” with the game and became a child prodigy, attracting attention from Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City. A trial at City followed, but the feedback was that he was not strong enough, and needed to toughen up mentally and physically. Being only 11, it upset him, hitting him hard. Now older (22), wiser, and stronger, the winger had his breakthrough season last year, scoring nine goals for Strømsgodset in Norway’s Eliteserien and earning a €1.3m move to Venezia, and will play in Serie A next season.

Unsung hero

Italy’s 1994 and 1998 World Cup midfielder Demetrio Albertini was once described as the player who made the great Milan team of the 90s tick, and Amir Al-Ammari is pretty similar in style and stature. Technically gifted, the Brøndby IF graduate took his time to find his natural role, for a long time seeing himself as a box-to-box midfielder. But the boy from Jönköping, where one of the ABBA members also comes from, has matured into a metronomic modern-day No 6. His late, late penalty to see Iraq advance to the play-off in Monterrey exorcised the demons of the 2023 Asian Cup round of 16 exit to Jordan, where his misplaced pass led to Iraq conceding the opening goal has constantly been at the back of his mind.

This is a piece from Hassanin Mubarak as part of the Guardian Sports Network. You can visit his substack here.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle