Iraq forward Ayman Hussein was in the news four days before the World Cup opener after U.S. immigration authorities held him for seven hours in Chicago, just as his teammates were finishing preparations. He still made the tournament debut in style, scoring Iraq’s first World Cup goal since 1986 with a header against Norway, although Iraq later lost 4-1.
Hussein’s path to the top has been shaped by violence and loss. When he was 12 and already playing for a local team near Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, his father, who served in the Iraqi army, was killed by Al Qaeda while buying construction materials for the family. A few years later, his older brother was kidnapped and has not been heard from since. Hussein pleaded with his family to leave the village, but his brother refused after joining the army following their father’s killing.
Instead of giving up football, Hussein moved forward and joined Iraq’s youth national team. At 16 he was signed by Duhok in the Iraqi top flight for $920 a month, a wage he said he would have played for free. He later moved to Baghdad clubs Al-Shorta, Al-Talaba and Al-Zawraa, became the league’s top scorer, then played for Qatar’s Al-Khor before returning to Iraq with Al-Karma.
His biggest moments have come in national-team colors. He scored in extra time against Qatar to send Iraq to Rio 2016, finished as top scorer at the Arab Gulf Cup and helped Iraq win the title seven years later, and scored against Indonesia in 2024 to help qualify for Paris 2024. He now has 34 international goals and ranks fifth on Iraq’s all-time list. In the recent qualifying campaign, he was Iraq’s standout player, scoring the decisive goal in a 2-1 playoff win over Bolivia in March that took Iraq to its first World Cup in 40 years. Despite recent injuries at Al-Karma, he again impressed against Norway, and teammate Jalal Hassan said, “Ayman is a name that does not need an introduction. His ability speaks for itself, not only in Iraq but across the Arab world.” Iraq now hopes he can help them spring an upset against France or at least take points from Senegal in their final match.
