Iraq coach Arnold says 9 of 12 World Cup goals came from individual errors

Iraq head coach Graham Arnold said his team conceded nine of its 12 goals at the 2026 World Cup through individual and defensive mistakes, a pattern he said was unrelated to the quality of the opposition. Iraq exited the tournament without a point after losing to Norway, France and Senegal, with a 5-0 defeat to Senegal in Toronto closing its campaign. Arnold said he was proud of his experience with the Iraqi people and called it a privilege to coach the national team at the World Cup. He described the team's elimination as disappointing but stressed that the volume of self-inflicted errors defined the group-stage exit. The coach singled out an early red card in the Senegal match as decisive, saying the dismissal had a heavy impact on his players and forced Iraq to play most of the game with 10 men. He called the decision "stupid" and noted that Senegal took control of the match once they had the numerical advantage. With the results in Group 9, Iraq finished the World Cup without a point on the standings.