Aymen Hussein put the ball in the net on March 31, 2026, and rewrote the trajectory of Iraqi football. His goal in a 2-1 victory over Bolivia secured Iraq’s spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending a 40-year absence from the sport’s biggest stage.
The 30-year-old striker sat down with Al Jazeera to discuss a path marked by personal hardship, national pride, and one very uncomfortable encounter with US immigration authorities.
The goal that changed everything
Iraq hadn’t qualified for a World Cup since 1986. Four decades is a long time for a football-mad nation to wait.
The Bolivia match wasn’t Hussein’s first decisive moment in the qualifying campaign. On September 5, 2024, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Oman, keeping Iraq’s World Cup dreams alive during the earlier rounds of qualification.
