Chapter 1: What led Graham Arnold to coach the Iraq national football team?
A listener production. Okay, are you recording? Welcome, superstars, to episode 267 of the Howie Games Part A, a very special episode featuring football coach Graham Arnold, the Iraqi football team, the Football World Cup, and what I genuinely believe is one of the great sports stories of the year so far.
You know, obviously when I resigned, I had a difficult eight months because I'm not a person who likes sitting at home and just staring at four walls. And, you know, once the Iraq job came along and I got offered it, I'd be honest, if they hadn't not qualified for 40 years, I would never have taken the job. These 90 minutes, they're life-changing.
Either Bolivia qualify for the first time in 32 years or Iraq for the first time in 40. There is no more recourse. Only one place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup remains.
Now, Arnie is a legend of Aussie football. His full story was told on episode 221 of the show. Just prior to that episode dropping, Arnie stepped away from his role as manager of the Socceroos, unsure of what was next.
Yeah, look, everyone thinks it was a difficult decision, but it was quite easy. I always put the nation first, the team first, and myself last, and I just felt that it was time to leave and I'd done my best with this group of players.
What was next is the incredible, uplifting and at times frightening story you are about to hear.
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Chapter 2: How did Graham Arnold feel about the challenges of coaching Iraq?
A story that has made Graham Arnold, a bloke from a very humble background in suburban Sydney, a hero to 46 million Iraqis.
Graham Arnold has led Iraq to the FIFA World Cup and now this crowd has come to say thank you. For the first time in 40 years, the Lions of Mesopotamia will roar at the World Cup.
For 40 years we didn't make it to the World Cup. It was a very hard time for us and he came in to save us like the hero he is.
He's the best coach in the world. He took us to the World Cup.
I am so happy that we made 46 million people happy.
Enjoy the story of Graeme Arnold and the Lions of Mesopotamia. Heroic. This man has joined the Howie Games before. He joined it when he was the coach of the Socceroos. By the time the episode went to air, he was no longer the coach of the Socceroos.
It was Socceroos coach Graeme Arnold sensationally quitting. Football Australia says the decision was entirely his.
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Chapter 3: What were the initial reactions of the players when Arnold took charge?
He is now joining us as a man that I spoke about last week in the preview. For mine, him and his team have achieved one of the great performances in sport in 2026. Graeme Arnold, weird as this is to say, coach of Iraq who are bound for the World Cup. Welcome back to the show, mate. How are you? And I appreciate your time because I know you've got a lot on your plate.
Thanks, Howie. It's... It was a crazy month, March, but it finished off in a great way.
An Australian soccer coach is tonight being hailed as an Iraqi hero. To the beat of drums, a greeting party gathers at Sydney Airport. From Australia to Iraq, a coaching journey now edged in football history.
Graham Arnold guiding the country to its first World Cup in 40 years. We will go into it in detail because I have gone deep on what you have been doing. But just, you know, now leading into the World Cup and looking back, just a brief reflection before we get into it.
Chapter 4: How did the Iraqi team prepare for their World Cup qualifiers?
For me, mate, it is, as I said, one of the great sporting performances of the year. People understand as we talk about it. But how do you view what you and the football team of Iraq have done over the last six months? Mate...
I probably would never have taken the job if they had qualified, say, in the last 10 years or so. The fact that they hadn't qualified for 40 years showed me the great challenge that I was going to have. And I love a great challenge, Howie, as you know. Yeah.
But, you know, probably the dagger that's been in my back for all these coaching years has been when Iraq beat the Socceroos when I was an interim coach in 2007, 3-1. Yeah. And they've always done quite well at Asian Cups and things like that, that you know that they've you know, they've got the quality of players. And so the question for me was, why haven't they qualified for 40 years?
And it was more about, you know, doing my research quickly on that when they offered me the job and to get across there and and do everything that I could to satisfy and make 46 million people happy and take a nation to a World Cup that hasn't been to a World Cup in 40 years and remembering the impact that it had on Australia in 2005 when we qualified against Uruguay for the 2006 World Cup.
Chapter 5: What was the atmosphere like during Iraq's crucial matches?
It's the kick that had carried the hopes and dreams of a nation. John Aloisi wrote his name in the history books and Australians went wild with passion. Many had never seen anything like it in their lifetimes. It's been 32 years since Australia last caught World Cup finals fever. We're going to Germany! We're going to Germany!
We're on our way to Germany!
It can change the local sport. It can change the mentality of the game in Australia, but also in the world. And it was a big decision I had to make, but one I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge the whole way.
As I said, mate, I have been watching videos from Iraq, from Bolivia about how it was perceived there, the works, which we'll get to. But let's take it back a step. When you came on this show and told your story, as I said, you were in charge of the Socceroos and then we did a little catch-up piece before it went to air because you were no longer in charge of the Socceroos.
But you said you had a lot of coaching left in you. Yeah.
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Chapter 6: How did Arnold manage the pressure on the Iraqi players?
I have no idea about some of these questions, Arnie. Take us into it. How do you get approached? Like as a football coach, what happens? Do you get an email from Iraq? Is there a phone call? Is there intermediaries? Is there a manager? How does it work, mate? I'm fascinated.
Mate, well, I have to say the first couple of months after I resigned from the Socceroos, and I really hope, Howie, that people now understand why I did resign. Yes. I didn't quit. No, correct. I resigned for the good of the nation and the players.
Chapter 7: What strategies did Arnold implement to improve the team's performance?
And I just didn't want to let my country down because I was cooked, you know, after coaching the Olympic team as well as the Socceroos and going through COVID. And the first two months after I made that decision, I have to say I enjoyed life and not having the pressure of the nation on your shoulders.
But by the third month, I was starting to go stir crazy sitting at home, staring at four walls and not having purpose in your day. and not having a purpose in your week with the goals set at the end of the week. And, you know, so I was starting to go, you know, driving myself a bit mad.
But, you know, just randomly I got this phone call from my agent, Tony Rallis, who rang me up and said, you know, I've had a bit of interest from Iraq about you. They've just sacked their coach, Kassas, but I'm pretty sure you won't take the job. And I said to him, hang on, why? And this was nine months, you know, as I said, six months stir crazy. And I said, but hang on, why?
And he said, well, would you? I said, absolutely. Leave it with me. I need to do my homework.
Chapter 8: What was the emotional impact of Iraq's World Cup qualification journey?
How long have we got to make that time to make that decision? And we had about three days before... The chairman, Adnan, called me and the board on a Zoom meeting, and it was about, you know, obviously if I wanted to coach Iraq, but they had two big qualifiers to play against South Korea in June and then Jordan. Mathematically, they weren't through to the next phase in the third-place position.
So, you know, we had to ā obviously they had to win one of those games to get through. And ā I did my homework quickly on the players, seen their results. They beat Japan at the Asian Cup 2-1, you know, and they've always had the quality and the talent, as I said right from the start. So it was... On a football side of it, it wasn't a tough decision to make.
Maybe on the lifestyle side of it and living in Baghdad and things like that, yes, the perception could have been of why I would take the job. But I went in there first day and I flew over there and I thought I was just replacing the technical staff. They got rid of everyone. The medical staff, the medical staff, the backroom staff, the kit man, you name it, media staff, they got rid of the lot.
So within 10 days I had to replace about 24 staff members.
You didn't ring me for the media manager role. I would have been over there with you in a heartbeat.
Yeah, but how do you speak Arabic?
Well, that's true. That's about all I got for you.
Yeah, so it was chaos right from the start and, yeah, And I was able to get in the technical staff here from Australia as well as RenĆ© Molenstein, who I had with the Socceroos. And then I added the ā sorry, the president, Adnan, did a great job in adding a medical staff from Aspita in ā Aspire in Qatar. Yep. So they could speak Arabic as well as English, which was fantastic.
And then, you know, then we filled the backroom staff. But it was, you know, right from the start it was chaos. But as I said, it was a challenge and I've been really proud of what the boys have done.
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