ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The scoreline was 4-1 to Norway. Iraq suffered a crushing defeat in their first World Cup match in 40 years. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice on his World Cup debut as Norway cruised to Group I victory.
But for Pakistan, the outcome mattered little.
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History was made Tuesday when Zidan Iqbal crossed the touchline for Iraq in the 59th minute at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. He was the first Pakistani player to play in the FIFA World Cup.
Pakistan’s national team has never qualified for the tournament. They are ranked 198th in the FIFA rankings. For decades, more than 250 million Pakistanis have watched football’s biggest event from outside.
That changed in a complicated way through a 23-year-old boy born in Manchester, England.
trilateral
Zidan Ammar Iqbal was born on April 27, 2003 to a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother. Her father, Amal, is from Sahiwal, Punjab, and her mother, Ayat, was born in southern Iraq.
Iqbal, who grew up in Manchester, was eligible to represent England, Pakistan and Iraq. The decision he ultimately made was not calculated.
Iraq, like a lot of things going on right now, found him through social media.
A large Instagram page that tracks Iraqis around the world contacted him to ask if the rumors about his parentage were true.
This information eventually reached the Iraqi Football Association, who tracked him down through a series of video calls with Iqbal and his parents.
Asked by The Athletic why he chose Iraq, Iqbal said: “The love and support from the fans in Iraq and around the world and how much the FA has done for me. When someone shows you so much love, it’s natural to feel it.”
He had never visited Iraq until receiving a call-up to the U-23s in 2021.
The culture shock was real, he admitted. But he’s back. Gradually, the country that was once just part of his heritage began to feel like home.
The path not taken
Iqbal joined Manchester United’s academy at the age of eight and spent 12 years at the club. In December 2021, the 18-year-old became the first British player of South Asian descent to feature in the UEFA Champions League for United in almost 20 years.
However, regular first-team football did not follow after that. He was eventually transferred to FC Utrecht of the Dutch Eredivisie for around 1 million euros ($1.1 million).
His performances during Iraq’s grueling 21-match qualifying campaign, including the winning goal against Indonesia, kept him a central figure in the team’s plans.
Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was monitoring his progress. But it was never really a contest.
FootballPakistan.com editor Ali Ahsan said the structural gap between the two football systems was too wide.
“We are struggling to attract players due to the bigger clubs, our ranking and lack of a professional structure. PFF still does not have a technical director or a dedicated national team recruitment staff,” Ahsan told Al Jazeera.
“For Zidane, he chose Iraq so he could play in major tournaments, which he probably wouldn’t have had in Pakistan,” Ahsan said.
“If he had chosen Pakistan, he would have had a huge impact on raising the profile of Pakistan football internationally. He was still at United at the time. He could have started a serious conversation about how their football needs to improve and inspired the kids to take it more seriously. Iraq are already an established team with a committed history, organization and fan base.”
For Iqbal, the road led elsewhere. But for Pakistan, the moment remained important.
“I hope that there are kids out there who see this and think they can do it too, whether they’re Asian or Arab or whatever,” Iqbal told The Athletic. “It’s definitely possible. And I did it, so why can’t they?”
Iraq will play France next Monday before facing Senegal in their final group game on June 26, but few expect them to advance. But few expected them to be there at all.
Iraq lost the match against Norway. For Pakistan, history was made anyway.
