The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked in the past few hours to resolve the visa crisis for the Iraqi national team players, allowing the Lions of Mesopotamia to participate in the 2026 World Cup playoffs.
The Iraqi Football Association had complained of difficulties in obtaining visas for the players less than two weeks before the playoffs, with Graham Arnold even calling for a postponement of the matches until a solution was found.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a press release Wednesday morning that a number of Iraqi players had already received the required visas through the Mexican Embassy in Saudi Arabia within the remaining hours.
As for the remaining players, they will also receive their visas through the Mexican Embassy in Qatar. It should be noted that Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq, so the process is handled through the nearest embassy in neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Football Association confirmed that it had not submitted any official request to FIFA to postpone the World Cup playoff match.
It is worth noting that Iraq will face the winner of Suriname and Bolivia in the play-off final, and if the Lions of Mesopotamia win, they will qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be in Group Nine alongside France, Senegal and Norway.
