March 14 : – Iraq will travel to Mexico at the end of the week for their World Cup playoff despite calls from coach Graham Arnold to postpone the match as they are facing travel disruption due to the Middle East conflict, the country’s FA president Adnan Dirjal said on Saturday.
Iraq are due to face either Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on March 31. Regional airspace has been closed since February 28, when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, grounding several flights.
Dirjal said in a video statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency that the federation had written to world soccer’s governing body FIFA to explain “the situation in the region and the difficulties facing the national team”.
He added that FIFA had been “cooperative” and helped overcome logistical obstacles.
He confirmed Iraq had secured entry visas and would fly on a chartered aircraft, with Europe-based players joining separately.
Arnold had urged FIFA to delay the playoff, warning that Iraq may not be able to assemble a full squad which would hurt their bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
(Reporting Ashraf Hamed Atta, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
