How many players born overseas are playing for Iraq at the 2026 World Cup?

Iraq are back in the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Four decades after their last appearance in soccer’s biggest tournament, the Lions of Mesopotamia arrive in North America with a 26-man roster, which features nine players who were born away from the Middle East and in Europe, instead.

In fact, some of Iraq’s best players weren’t born in the Cradle of Civilization. Iraq’s situation regarding overseas-born players isn’t an isolated case. In Group I of the 2026 World Cup alone, France’s roster features several players born abroad, while Senegal also has several foreign-born players, including some born in France.

The vast majority of Iraq’s players born overseas come from Scandinavia. Moreover, a large portion of the foreign-born players on its 2026 World Cup squad are from Sweden, as Hussein Ali, Amir Al-Ammari, Kevin Yakob, and Ahmed Qasem were all born in the Elongated Country.

The full list of naturalized Iraqi players

In addition to the four players born in Sweden, Iraq’s 2026 World Cup roster features the likes of Merchas Doski and Youssef Amyn, both of whom were born in Germany, as well as Frans Putros (Denmark), Zidane Iqbal (England), and Marko Farji (Norway).

Marko Farji of Iraq was born in Norway.

With the Swedish-, Danish-, and Norwegian-born players, 66% of Iraq’s foreign-born players come from Scandinavia. Those six players make up 23% of the 26-man roster.

See also

What’s Iraq’s FIFA ranking at the 2026 World Cup? More about Norway, France’s opponent

Iraq’s Farji will face Norway

Sharing Group I at the 2026 World Cup, Farji will face Norway, the country of his birth, while representing Iraq. If he scores, it remains to be seen whether he will celebrate or choose not to out of respect for his birth country.

Perhaps he will take a page out of Yasin Asari’s book, as he did not celebrate after scoring for Sweden against Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup. Still, all Iraq care about is putting on a strong showing and making it out of the group stage for the first time in tournament history.

Needless to say, the Lions of Mesopotamia are in for a steep climb taking on Norway, France, and Senegal in the ‘Group of Death’ of the 2026 World Cup.