The Iraqi star explained why he was removed from the roster of the World Cup. It’s sad

Iraq’s 21-year-old Muntadhar Majid has expressed his disappointment at being left out of the Mesopotamia Lions’ 2026 World Cup squad, stressing that coach Graham Arnold personally informed him of the reasons for the decision.

Arnold sees better players

Majed said in statements given to the Swedish “Football Scanalen” website. “It’s sad, but I’m over it now,” noting that the period before the official announcement was psychologically difficult.

He added: “It was a period full of fluctuations, I didn’t know if I would be included in the list or not, I had a simple hope, but it didn’t come true.”

Arnold’s call resolves the situation

Majed revealed that the Australian coach contacted him personally to explain the reasons for the dismissal, saying: “The coach explained his decision to me and he thinks there are better players than me in my position.”

The player alluded to the existence of different selection criteria without going into direct comparisons. “I don’t want to compare the players, but there are names that play in the national team in different championships, but I don’t want to delve into this topic.”

Majed concluded his speech by stressing that he follows the team outside the field. “I wish them success. The group is very difficult and includes Norway, France and Senegal, but I hope they will achieve the best results.”

It is noteworthy that 30 players were included in the preliminary list of Iraq, including: Jalal Hasan, Rebin Sulaka, Zidan Iqbal, Ali Al Hammadi, Ayman Hussain.