{"id":25345,"date":"2026-03-09T08:20:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/09\/iraq-coach-graham-arnold-asks-fifa-to-postpone-world-cup-playoffs-amid-iran-conflict\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T08:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:20:28","slug":"iraq-coach-graham-arnold-asks-fifa-to-postpone-world-cup-playoffs-amid-iran-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/09\/iraq-coach-graham-arnold-asks-fifa-to-postpone-world-cup-playoffs-amid-iran-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq coach Graham Arnold asks FIFA to postpone World Cup playoffs amid Iran conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Iraq head coach Graham Arnold has issued an urgent plea to soccer&#8217;s international governing body to postpone the team&#8217;s intercontinental qualifiers. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">world cup<\/span> Because of the disruption caused by escalation <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">iran war<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Iraq faces major logistical problems ahead of a winner-take-all playoff against either Suriname or Bolivia, scheduled for March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico. <\/p>\n<p>Due to the escalating conflict, Iraq&#8217;s airspace is closed until April 1st, and Arnold&#8217;s team, made up mainly of players from the domestic league, will not be able to fully assemble.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">Players have not secured visas<\/span> Missing a playoff tournament in Mexico due to foreign embassies being closed, Arnold is stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to a conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold, a former coach of the Australian national team, told the Australian Associated Press: &#8220;We&#8217;re having a hard time getting our players out of the country of Iraq right now, so we&#8217;re asking for your help with this game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The disruption has already forced the postponement of a training camp scheduled for Houston. Arnold said building a team solely with players based overseas was not a realistic option.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not going to be our best team and we need the best team to play in the biggest game in this country in 40 years,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold proposed strategically delaying the playoff schedule, proposing that FIFA allow preliminary games between Suriname and Bolivia this month, while delaying the final playoffs until a week before the start of the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In my opinion, if FIFA postpones the match, it will give us time to prepare properly,&#8221; Arnold said. \u201cIn my opinion, it also <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">FIFA takes more time<\/span> decide <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">What is Iran trying to do?<\/span> &#8220;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Iran withdraws, we will be in the World Cup and the UAE, who won in the qualifiers, will have a chance to prepare for Bolivia or Suriname.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Federation President Adnan Diljal has been working around the clock on planning and preparations to make the Iraqi dream a reality for everyone, which is why we need to take this decision quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iraq-world-cup-playoff-iran-soccer-a112ac21ab122b61d4135945dcbe80d8\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Iraq head coach Graham Arnold has issued an urgent plea to soccer&#8217;s international governing body to postpone the team&#8217;s intercontinental qualifiers. world cup Because of the disruption caused by escalation iran war. Iraq faces major logistical problems ahead of a winner-take-all playoff against either Suriname or Bolivia, scheduled for March 31 in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Iraq coach Graham Arnold asks FIFA to postpone World Cup playoffs amid Iran conflict - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/09\/iraq-coach-graham-arnold-asks-fifa-to-postpone-world-cup-playoffs-amid-iran-conflict\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iraq coach Graham Arnold asks FIFA to postpone World Cup playoffs amid Iran conflict - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Iraq head coach Graham Arnold has issued an urgent plea to soccer&#8217;s international governing body to postpone the team&#8217;s intercontinental qualifiers. world cup Because of the disruption caused by escalation iran war. 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