On Wednesday morning (at 7 AM UAE time), the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, will host the decisive match in the intercontinental playoff to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Iraq and Bolivia will compete for one of two spots available in this global playoff. The match will be broadcast live on beIN Sports channels.
After finishing third in Group A of the third round of Asian qualifying, behind South Korea and Jordan and ahead of Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait, the Iraqi team advanced to the Asian playoff for a spot in the global playoff. There, they secured second place in their group behind Saudi Arabia, who qualified directly for the World Cup, and faced the UAE, who finished second in the other group, to determine Asia's representative in the global playoff.
The Iraqi team successfully earned their playoff spot by drawing 1-1 away and then winning 2-1 at home in the second leg, advancing to the global playoff.
The draw pitted Iraq against the winner of the Bolivia vs. Suriname semi-final in the playoff final.
Led by their Australian coach, Graham Arnold, the Iraqi team aspires to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since the 1986 edition in Mexico, where they were eliminated in the group stage after three matches against Mexico, Belgium, and Paraguay.
Iraq's strength lies in the experience of their top scorer, Ayman Hussein, a forward for Al-Kahraba in the Iraqi league, along with Ali Al-Hamadi of English Luton Town, Zidane Iqbal of Dutch Utrecht, and Yousef Ayman of Cypriot AEK Larnaka.
Bolivia secured their place in the final by defeating Suriname 2-1, turning a first-half deficit into a victory that earned them a ticket to the final and a chance to dream of World Cup qualification.
The Bolivian team has participated in the World Cup three times. Their first appearance was in the inaugural tournament in 1930, where they were eliminated in the group stage. The same fate befell them in 1950 and 1994.
Bolivia advanced to the global playoff by finishing seventh in the South American qualifying campaign. They achieved 6 wins, 2 draws, and 10 losses in 18 matches, earning them a spot in the global playoff.
Under their coach, Óscar Villegas, Bolivia aims to overcome the challenge of Iraq and reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1994, also held in the USA. The team had little chance in the South American qualifiers, a group of ten teams that included strong and historic nations like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and others, making their task very difficult.
However, the team performed well in qualifying. Among their 6 wins was a standout 1-0 victory over Brazil, one of the best matches in their qualifying history.
The team is bolstered by their young star, Miguel Ángel Tórrez, who plays for Brazilian Santos. He scored the winning goal against Suriname after teammate Moisés Paniagua, of Moroccan Wydad, had equalized.
This decisive match for a World Cup berth will be the second encounter between the two teams. The first was a friendly on November 20, 2018, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
The winner of the Iraq vs. Bolivia match will be placed in Group C of the World Cup alongside France, Senegal, and Norway.
