Ex-Socceroos coach Graham Arnold ‘proud' of his Iraq team following win over Jordan
While Wednesday morning's success wasn't enough for Iraq to secure FIFA World Cup qualification, Arnold's men will have another chance to book a berth in next year's tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada when they compete in the fourth round of AFC qualifiers in October.
'I'm proud of the team,' Arnold said after the win, which came less than a week after Iraq suffered a 2-0 home loss to South Korea in his first game in charge of the Lions of Mesopotamia.
'It was a crazy week, but it ended well. We rested four players to avoid suspension and will now focus on the (fourth round).
'My message to Iraqi fans – believe in us, we will reach the 2026 World Cup.'
The fourth round of qualifiers features the nations that finished third and fourth in the three third-round groups.
Joining Iraq will be the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Indonesia.
The six nations will be split into two groups of three, with the top team from each group to advance to the World Cup.
The teams that finished second in each group will play each other for the AFC's spot in the six-nation inter-confederation playoffs, from which two teams will secure World Cup qualification.
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Hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa said they were mindful not to get caught up in the aura of the Springboks, back-to-back world champions after winning the 2023 title in France. They thumped Australia 33-7 and 33-12 in their two Tests last year, with the Wallabies' last victory coming in Adelaide in 2022. "It's really easy to look at what South Africa have done in the past and obviously they're a world-class team and for us it's just taking them for face value," Paenga-Amosa said from Johannesburg. "We respect what they've done, we respect them as a team, winning World Cups but we're just going to take them at face value - what we see in front of our faces in Ellis Park is how we're going to see them. "I definitely think we're at a better place now than we were 12 months ago. "First stop though here at Ellis Park, so we're looking at definitely continuing that momentum." 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"It's been awesome for my sister, I'm really proud of her and excited to watch her ripping at the World Cup ... most of the household has been buzzing. "It's been exciting the past month for myself personally and if I do get that opportunity in Jo'burg to play against the Springboks, it'll be a huge honour for myself." The Wallabies are hunting a Springboks scalp to sit alongside the Lions' but are well aware of the size of the challenge of taking down the world champions on the high veldt. Australia open the Rugby Championship on Sunday (0110 AEDT) against South Africa at Johannesburg's Ellis Park, a ground where they last won back in 1963. Their most recent victory over the Boks at altitude was at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, where they pulled off a last-gasp two-point win in 2010. But with just 10 wins from 48 Tests in South Africa since 1933, the successes of the Wallabies have been few and far between. 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The 29-year-old said his family was proud of his sister, also a hooker. "It's been awesome for my sister, I'm really proud of her and excited to watch her ripping at the World Cup ... most of the household has been buzzing. "It's been exciting the past month for myself personally and if I do get that opportunity in Jo'burg to play against the Springboks, it'll be a huge honour for myself."
