Arnold names Iraq squad for Gulf Cup 27 in Saudi Arabia

BAGHDAD — Graham Arnold has named a 26-man squad for the Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia, recalling striker Aymen Hussein and leaving out goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, and said Iraq is going with the aim of winning the title.

“A national team player does not have the right to choose whether or not he will join the national team, and he must have 100% desire and passion to represent the national team,” Arnold said at the announcement. He said he had paired an experienced player with a younger one in each position and wanted leadership in the squad. “I choose the team and the lineup, and we have to learn from what happened at the World Cup and prepare to build the future of Iraqi football, starting with the Iraqi league and the age-group teams, because developing all of them will make the national team stronger.”

The squad is Ahmed Yahya, Hussein Hassan, Mohammed Saleh, Ahmed Basil, Mustafa Saadoun, Mohammed Dlawar, Merchas Doski, Youssef al-Imam, Akam Hashim, Zaid Tahseen, Mitham Jabbar, Zaidan Iqbal, Ibrahim Bayesh, Mohammed Qasim, Karrar Nabil, Abdulrazzaq Qasim, Haider Abdul-Kareem, Amir al-Ammari, Zaid Ismail, Bassam Shakir, Youssef al-Nasrawi, Ali al-Hamadi, Aymen Hussein, Saif Rashid, Ali Jassim and Ahmed Qasim.

Iraq is in Group A with Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, opening against Oman on Sept. 23.

Arnold signed a six-month extension last month after turning down a four-year offer, saying a long contract would cost him his motivation. The term covers this tournament and the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia and then ends. He took charge in May last year after Jesús Casas left and led Iraq to a second World Cup, beating Bolivia 2-1 in March to end a 40-year absence, before losses of 4-1 to Norway, 3-0 to France and 5-0 to Senegal left them bottom of their group with one goal scored and 12 conceded.