PHILADELPHIA, USA — Ali Al-Kabashi was 13 years old when he first saw Iraq play in the World Cup on TV. Forty years later, he was inside Philadelphia Stadium when his country returned to the big stage to take on former champions France.
Despite his team’s 3-0 loss in Group I’s second game, Al-Kabashi said he was grateful to be able to watch Iraq play live at the tournament.
“Watching Iraq play in the World Cup is enough,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The performance wasn’t too bad. It was as expected. France are on another level. At least the Iraqi players weren’t just playing long balls. They were trying to build attacks.”
Iraqi fans rose to their feet to salute their team at the final whistle, and even when they were down by three points in the final minutes, they cheered on every attack as if they were aiming for an equalizer.
“A matter of pride”
For a country that has faced immense adversity over the past few decades, Iraq’s participation in the World Cup brought pure joy to fans who traveled from across the United States and around the world to watch their team perform.
Hala Maykan, an Iraqi-American living in Wisconsin, said Iraq’s return to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years was a dream come true.
“We are living a dream. Iraq, my homeland, and America, where I live, will reach the World Cup finals. For me, the dream is twofold,” Maikaan told Al Jazeera.
“I’m very happy and excited. This is the pride of the Iraqi people.”
She thanked the players for bringing Iraqis from every corner of the globe together to unite around the team.
“Regardless of the result, we are with this team,” Mahan told Al Jazeera.
“They lack experience, but we expect them to do well and we wish all Arab teams well.”
Two-time world champions France started the match with intensity, with superstar Kylian Mbappé silencing the raucous Iraqi crowd in the 14th minute with a scream from the edge of the box, but it didn’t last long.
After the shock, Iraqi fans cheered for their team again and chants of “Iraq, Iraq” echoed throughout the stadium.
This process was repeated twice, with France’s goal only temporarily quelling the cheers of the Mesopotamian Lions supporters.
Despite the huge difference in quality between the two teams, Iraq did more than stop the bus and clear the ball as far as possible from their own goal.
They kept the ball and tried to break through France’s high press.
Texas resident Mohamed Abdul-Jabbar said the result was disappointing, but the team did what it had to do against a higher-ranked opponent.
“Their performance was good. Yes, there were mistakes, but there were also some beautiful plays. We are proud of them and thank them for taking us to the World Cup,” Abduljabar told Al Jazeera.
He added that the feeling he felt watching the game against Iraq in the stadium was “indescribable”.
Beyond soccer, Iraq’s World Cup journey demonstrated a strengthened national identity that transcended sectarian and religious boundaries.
Kurdish and Assyrian flags flew next to their national flags at the stadium on Monday, while fans all stood in solidarity behind the players.
Hussam Nafea, an Iraq fan who drove four hours from Virginia to watch the game, said the country has risen across divisions and is now more united around its team.
“Wherever we go, as Iraqis we rejoice and are united. We would like to stay that way if possible,” Nafea, wearing an Iraqi flag, told Al Jazeera outside the stadium.
Over the past few decades, Iraq has endured coups, wars, sieges, civil wars, a US-led invasion, and the rise of ISIL (ISIS).
Although the country is currently experiencing a period of relative peace, it remains near the center of many of the region’s geopolitical fault lines.
Nowres Al-Mammouri traveled all the way from South Australia to Philadelphia to observe the fighting in Iraq.
He said the excitement surrounding participation in the Games was bringing much-needed relief to the Iraqi people.
“Iraqi people have gone through a lot and are still going through a lot,” Al-Mamouri told Al Jazeera. “They deserve this joy.”
Actual storms hit Iraq and France on Monday, with heavy rain and lightning halting the game for nearly two hours at halftime.
As fans lined up to enter the stadium under water cannon from the sky, Iraqi fan Hassan Raad said he was not concerned about the weather or the result.
“Rain, sun, ice, desert. We are here for our comrades,” Raad told Al Jazeera. “The result doesn’t matter. As fans, our job is to support the team.”
Atekah Saleh, an Iraqi-American from Wisconsin, agrees.
“No matter what happened today, they have already brought us here and made us happy together,” Saleh said of the players before the match.
“So, ‘thank you’ to them. We’re very proud of this team.”
