Iraq national football team

The Iraqi national football team, managed by the Iraqi Football Association, represents the country on the international stage. Their most significant achievement was winning the 2007 Asian Cup.

The peak of Iraqi football's development occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, the team qualified for the 1986 World Cup finals and participated in three Olympic Games – in Moscow, Los Angeles, and Seoul. In 1982, Iraqi footballers won gold at the Asian Games and have also won four Arab Nations Cups. Furthermore, in 1985, the team's reserve team won the Pan Arab Games. The team finished fourth in the Asian Cup in 1976, but did not participate in the tournament again until 1996.

Despite the difficult situation in the country, the Iraqi national team continued to compete internationally, achieving respectable results. In 2004, the team reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup and qualified for the Athens Olympic Games. There, they defeated teams from Portugal, Costa Rica, and Australia, finishing fourth after a 0-1 defeat to Italy. FIFA awarded the team a special prize for fair play. At the end of the year, the team was recognized as the best team in Asia by the AFC and won gold at the 2005 West Asian Games. The following year, the Iraqi Olympic team won silver at the Asian Games.

The pinnacle of their success was their triumph at the 2007 Asian Cup, after which the team was again named the best by the AFC and awarded the "Team of the Year" title by World Soccer Magazine and Al-Ahram. The team was also nominated for the Prince of Asturias Humanitarian Award. The victory gave the team the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, but the team failed to advance from the group.