Iraqi soccer fans are celebrating as their national team qualifies for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. The excitement is palpable in communities like Dearborn, Michigan, where fans are eager to support their team.
Key points
Iraq qualifies for the World Cup after 40 years
Fans in Dearborn, Michigan, are excited and supportive
Waad Sana's store receives high demand for team jerseys
The Iraqi national team is known as the Lions of Mesopotamia
Mentioned in this story
Dearborn
Iraq national soccer team
Rochester Hills, MI - June 10, 2026: Waad Sana, 58, owner of Soccer World since 1986, poses for a portrait at his Rochester Hills, MI store. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Waad Sana was inspired to open Soccer World in 1986 after seeing the Iraqi national team play in that year's World Cup. 40 years later, Iraq is back in the tournament and Sana is getting around 100 calls each day from fans looking for Iraq national team jerseys.
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
DEARBORN, Mich.— From the sidelines of a sweltering domed field in the Detroit suburbs, Zee Esho keeps his eye on the season opener of the local Iraqi Chaldean soccer league. It's only the first game of the summer, and things are getting heated: a few minutes in and there's already been a yellow card. One of the goalies is yelling so much you'd think the World Cup's Ballon d'Or was at stake.
In this Michigan soccer town where people take the game seriously, excitement is in the air for the World Cup, and especially for one team in particular: Iraq. The Lions of Mesopotamia, as the team is nicknamed, haven't qualified for the World Cup since 1986, so long ago that generations of Iraqis have never seen their team compete in the world's most prominent tournament.
That's the case for 34 year-old Esho, who emigrated from Iraq to Michigan as a kid. But he remembers how, back in his home country, soccer was the only thing that could bring the diverse nation's ethnic and religious groups together even in times of war and unrest.
"Even you see it now," says Esho, marveling at the way the team's victory in the World Cup qualifiers electrified Dearborn's large Iraqi diaspora.
"When they play, you have people from the South, from the North, from the West, from the East, all gathering together to watch the game."
Q&A
When did Iraq last qualify for the World Cup before 2026?
Iraq last qualified for the World Cup in 1986.
How are Iraqi fans celebrating their team's World Cup qualification?
Fans are celebrating by purchasing jerseys and attending local soccer games, showing their excitement for the national team.
What is the nickname of the Iraqi national soccer team?
The Iraqi national soccer team is nicknamed the Lions of Mesopotamia.
Where is the local Iraqi Chaldean soccer league located?
The local Iraqi Chaldean soccer league is located in Dearborn, Michigan.
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Members of Iraq's men's national football team sit atop a double-decker bus as they are paraded with fans in the Jadriya area of central Baghdad on April 4, 2026 to celebrate the country's qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in North America in the summer.
Members of the Iraqi men's national football team sit atop a double-decker bus are cheered on by the fans in the Jadriya area of central Baghdad on April 4, 2026. They were celebrating the country's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images
MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images
Iraqis gather on the streets to watch Iraq play against Bolivia during the FIFA World Cup inter-confederation playoff, in Baghdad, Iraq, April 1, 2026.
Iraqis gather on the streets to watch Iraq play against Bolivia during the FIFA World Cup inter-confederation playoff, in Baghdad, Iraq, April 1, 2026.
Thaier Al-Sudani/REUTERS
Thaier Al-Sudani/REUTERS
Yes, he smiles knowingly, Iraq is playing in a group with teams that are so good some have dubbed it a "Group Of Death": Norway, Senegal and France. But he says making it this far is what counts. "If they win one game,one game, which I am sure they will, Iraq fans will go crazy."
Whether you call it soccer, futbol, or kurut alqadam, in most of the world it's more than just a sport: it's like a religion, one that is getting more and more converts in the U.S.
Rochester Hills, MI - June 10, 2026: Waad Sana, 58, owner of Soccer World since 1986, poses for a portrait at his Rochester Hills, MI store. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Waad Sana poses with the official FIFA 2026 World Cup "Trionda" soccer ball at his store Soccer World in Rochester Hills, MI on June 10, 2026.
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
Waad Sana, the owner of a store called Soccer World, says it wasn't always this way. In 1976, when he migrated to the U.S. from Iraq as a teenager, one of the first things he wanted to do was play ball. He went to a sports store, "and I asked the associate: 'Do you have football?' He comes in and he brings me the brown football. I said, 'What the heck is this?' I thought he was making fun of me."
These days, Sana says the store gets about 100 calls per day asking for Iraqi national team jerseys (there's a waitlist).
Rochester Hills, MI - June 10, 2026: While on a shopping trip, Matt Abro, 39, looks at football jersey sizees for his sons at Soccer World in Rochester Hills, MI. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Shopper Matt Abro looks at U.S. Men's National Team jerseys with his sons at Soccer World.
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
Sana says he went to see Iraq the last time the team played in the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. The experience is what inspired him to open this store. That feels like a lifetime ago.
"Imagine for 40 years, that's 10 tries to qualify for the World Cup, and Iraq [failing] at it," says Sana. "And now we made it. For me to see that love and passion, it gives you goosebumps."
He's even got some vintage Iraqi soccer chants ready to teach the kids.
Dearborn, MI - June 11, 2026: Director of Michigan FC, Abbas Alwishah, 44, poses for a portrait during a Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, MI. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Michigan FC Director Abbas Alwishah poses for a portrait during a Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, Mich. on June 10, 2026.
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
Dearborn, MI - June 11, 2026: Director of Michigan FC, Abbas Alwishah, 44, coaching during a Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, MI. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Michigan FC Director Abbas Alwishah, 44, coaches during a Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, MI. in June 2026. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
"Even if they're like 6 years old, they know," says Abbas Alwishah, director of Michigan FC, a youth league that attracts kids of all ages from Detroit's diverse immigrant communities.
"Their parents watch it, and they hear about it in the community," Alwishah says, as his team of middle-school-aged players run warm up drills under the sweltering summer sun. "To them it's like their heritage."
It'snot just Michiganders of Iraqi heritage who are rooting for Iraq this summer. Fans of all nationalities are cheering for the underdog.
Sixteen-year-old Fatima Alzahraa Yazdchi is originally from Kuwait, which did not qualify for the World Cup. But without hesitation, she lists her bracket in this World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo, Iran and definitely Iraq. "I feel like that's a big milestone for them. This should be an exciting World Cup."
Dearborn, MI - June 11, 2026: Fatimah Alzahraa Yazdchi, 16, poses for a portrait during a Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, MI. (Photo by Nick Hagen for NPR)
Fatimah Alzahraa Yazdchi, 16, at Michigan FC practice in Dearborn, Mich. She plans to watch the games on TV with her dad, whom she credits for most of her soccer skills.
Nick Hagen for NPR
Nick Hagen for NPR
On game days, she'll be watching on TV with her dad, who she says taught her most of her soccer skills and her passion for the game. "Gotta see them win!" Fatima grins, before rejoining the rest of the girls' team for one-on-one drills.
At the very least fans will see Iraq play a good game, which is a victory 40 years in the making.
