10 countries you never knew played in a FIFA World Cup

#8 Iraq – 1986

Iraq qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico despite being forced to play all their home matches at neutral venues owing to the Iran-Iraq war. The first round of the Asian qualifiers would see Iraq secure their progress after beating Qatar 2-1 in a tense final match at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.

The second round would see Iraq beating UAE 3-2 at the Al-Rashid stadium in Dubai to gain the advantage and three away goals, but they found themselves seconds away from elimination after falling 2-0 behind in the return leg at the King Fahd Stadium.

Karim Saddam would score the vital goal for Iraq in the last minute of normal time, enabling the Iraqis to scrape through to the playoff against Syria on away goals.

King Fahd Stadium would remain Iraq’s ‘Home’ stadium and the Mesopotamian Lions would seal their berth at the World Cup with a 3-1 win after a 0-0 draw at Damascus.

Iraq would play their hearts out at the World Cup and Ahmed Radhi would score their only goal in a 1-2 reverse at the hands of Belgium. They would lose by single goal margins to Mexico and Paraguay but would return to Baghdad with their heads held high.