'They have a holiday when Barcelona play Madrid': Arnold's love for football-crazy Iraq

[p]"[b]The year I've been in charge has been crazy and very, very stressful for the players,[/b]" Arnold told AFP by phone from Baghdad, shortly before heading to Spain for a pre-tournament training camp.[/p][p]"[b]Every game basically since I've been here has been a game of life and death.[/b]"[/p][p]That might sound extreme, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iraq/K8aAGt6r/"]Iraq[/a] were not just left battling to secure qualification right up until the latest possible moment -- their prospects of reaching the finals were also seriously compromised by the war in neighbouring Iran.[/p][p]Arnold, 62, was appointed in May last year to succeed Spaniard Jesus Casas. At that point, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]Lions of Mesopotamia[/a] were pushing for direct qualification in Asian Group B behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-korea/K6Gs7P6G/"]South Korea[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jordan/vNcmJoU2/"]Jordan[/a].[/p][p]But on Arnold's debut, 10-man Iraq lost to the Koreans. They eventually had to win a two-legged play-off against the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/united-arab-emirates/Knrj3QiN/"]United Arab Emirates[/a] -– courtesy of a decisive Amir Al-Ammari penalty in the 17th minute of injury time -– to progress to an intercontinental play-off in Mexico in March.[/p][p]However, at that time, the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran left many Iraqi players and staff stranded and scrambling to make the long trip.[/p][embed guid="56f4605f-f0d2-4dfa-b0ff-4dd8ef772425" url="https://x.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/2060004290358345868" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]The airspace was shut down in Iraq. I couldn't get back into Iraq to get my coaching equipment. The players couldn't get out of Iraq,[/b]" Arnold recalls, detailing the 26-hour bus trip they took from Baghdad to Amman in Jordan.[/p][p]"And they got stuck in Jordan for 28 hours because of bombs going off around them and they shut down the airspace.[/p][p]"[b]When the boys actually got there, it took 68 hours. One of the first meetings and discussions I had with the players was, OK, with everything that's going on in the Middle East, are you going to use that as an excuse or motivation?[/b]"[/p][p]Iraq defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bolivia/nXdi7mbc/"]Bolivia[/a] 2-1 in Monterrey, securing a first World Cup appearance since 1986 after an interminable 21-match qualifying campaign.[/p][embed guid="d2a8c46f-b922-42ad-bc4a-019bf05e73bf" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YTxxwzCEp4" social-type="youtube" /][p]"[b]The players went through a hell of a lot of stress and a lot of pressure on their shoulders from 46 million people in Iraq to qualify for a World Cup for the first time in 40 years,[/b]" said Arnold.[/p][p]"E[b]very one of those games was heartbreak or we survived.[/b]"[/p][p]Arnold, who has been splitting his time between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] and Iraq, insists his team does not lack ability but that his biggest job has been changing mentalities.[/p][p]"[b]What I've felt in my time here, is that Iraq is a very negative country, because of all the shit that's gone on with the wars over the last 30 years - there's a bit of a negative mentality here, no one likes us, everyone hates us,[/b]" he says, referring to the Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003.[/p][p]This may only be Iraq's second World Cup, but the country has a footballing pedigree -- they won the Asian Cup in 2007 and were semi-finalists in 2015.[/p][p]"[b]I've never seen a country so obsessed with football. They have public holidays when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] play [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a],[/b]" says the coach.[/p][embed guid="e3a4a9d2-bce9-4bb6-9e65-df8a17892f5f" url="https://x.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/2060007935397273866" social-type="twitter" /][p]Arnold took his native Australia to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, leading them to the last 16 where they pushed eventual winners [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] close.[/p][p]Despite the adulation he has received from Iraqis, he says he felt far greater pressure as coach of the Socceroos.[/p][p]"[b]I have the greatest respect for people like Didier Deschamps that has stayed and coached his nation for so long.[/b][/p][p]"The pressure of coaching your own nation is crazy because you don't want to let them down.[/p][p]"[b]I feel like I'm more of a football coach now with Iraq than with Australia.[/b]"[/p][p]Iraq are in a daunting group at this World Cup, starting against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a] in Boston on June 16 before also playing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/hOIsJLJr/"]Senegal[/a]. So what can they realistically achieve?[/p][p]"[b]We qualified last. If you went through every individual player and every team, and the transfer price of all the players, we would probably be the lowest-ranked at the World Cup,[/b]" says Arnold, whose contract expires on July 31.[/p][p]"But it's a World Cup. Anything can happen. And our boys have a great fighting mentality. It's 11 versus 11.[/p][p]"[b]And if we win our one-versus-one battles, we can shock the world.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="50a4c0c0-f28e-45b5-829a-e32f0bfebf0b" url="https://x.com/10SportAU/status/2060234080676184487" social-type="twitter" /]