Adnan Dirjal (Iraqi FA President): "Amouta Backed Out of Coaching Iraq at the Last Minute Despite Initial Agreement"
Adnan Dirjal, President of the Iraqi Football Association, confirmed that coach Graham Arnold was not among the federation's primary options during the search for a new national team coach.
Dirjal stated in remarks to the "Hat-trick" program: "Graham Arnold was not fundamentally among our options."
He added: "We tried to sign Hussein Amouta, contacting his club in the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. However, Amouta backed out at the last minute without knowing the reasons, despite an initial agreement between us, and I don't know the cause of this withdrawal."
Amouta had topped the list of coaches nominated to lead the Iraqi national team recently, succeeding Spaniard Jesús Casas.
It is worth noting that the Iraqi national football team has qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals, returning to global participation for the second time in its history and the first in 40 years, since its appearance in the 1986 World Cup.
The qualification of the "Lions of Mesopotamia" came after their 2-1 victory over Bolivia in the final of the global playoff, hosted in Monterrey, Mexico, securing their spot in Group Nine alongside France, Senegal, and Norway.
