Graham Arnold confirms Iraq's participation in Gulf 27 with the aim of competing for the title

Australian Graham Arnold, coach of the Iraqi national team, confirmed that his team will participate in the Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 27) with the aim of competing for the title, stressing the importance of the tournament that begins next week in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Arnold summoned 26 players to participate in the tournament, where Iraq, which won the title four times, most recently in the “Gulf 25,” will compete in the first group alongside Saudi Arabia, the owner of the land, Kuwait, and the Sultanate of Oman, while the second group includes Bahrain, the defending champion, Qatar, the Emirates, and Yemen.

Arnold said, during a press conference after announcing the list: “The Gulf Cup is an important tournament for all countries in the region, and there is no such thing as a friendly tournament.” He added: “We learned a lot from the World Cup, and now we must build a good future for Iraqi football.” 50 percent of the World Cup squad is not included in the Gulf 27, and I was keen to give the new players the opportunity to see them in action.”

The Iraqi coach explained his philosophy in choosing the list, saying: “I chose a player with experience in each position, along with a young player as an alternative. Haider Abdel Karim is an excellent player and deserves a chance alongside the rest of the new names that were chosen.”

Arnold touched on the absences and technical options, stressing that a number of prominent players were excluded due to injury, and added: “I alone am responsible for choosing the national team roster. Ahmed Basil is a goalkeeper with great experience, and the rest of the goalkeepers were chosen with the conviction of the goalkeeper coach.”

Iraq had exited the World Cup in the group stage after losing its three matches to Norway, France and Senegal, while Arnold is seeking to invest in “Gulf 27” to give a number of new faces the opportunity to appear with the national team.

The 63-year-old Australian coach extended his contract with the Iraqi Federation last month until 2027, and will lead the team in the Gulf Cup, in addition to the Asian Cup scheduled for early next year in Saudi Arabia.

Iraq's list included goalkeepers Hussein Hassan, Mohamed Salah, and Ahmed Basil, and defenders Ahmed Yahya, Mustafa Saadoun, Haitham Jabbar, Zaid Tahseen, Akam Hashim, Youssef Al-Imam, Mirkhas Dosky, and Mohamed Delawar.

In the midfield, Arnold chose Ibrahim Bayesh, Zidane Iqbal, Bassam Shaker, Zaid Ismail, Amir Al-Ammari, Haider Abdul Karim, Abdul Razzaq Qasim, Karar Nabil, Muhammad Qasim, Ahmed Qasim, and Ali Jassim, while the attacking line included Ayman Hussein, Saif Rashid, Ali Al-Hammadi, and Youssef Al-Nasrawi.

Ibrahim Hassan, director of the Egyptian national team, revealed the “Pharaohs” camp program in preparation for the matches between Angola and South Sudan in the qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations.

Hassan explained that the team’s list for the two matches will be announced later, Wednesday, and that the camp will begin on Thursday, at the national teams center in “6th of October City.”

The Egyptian national team will begin its qualifying campaign by hosting Angola on September 25 at Cairo International Stadium.

After the match, the team's delegation will leave for Juba on September 27 on a private plane, in preparation for facing South Sudan on the 29th of the same month, in the second round of the qualifiers.

The delegation is scheduled to return to Cairo on September 30, and the team will continue its program by playing a friendly match against South Africa on October 4 at Cairo International Stadium.