Pakistan has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Not once in its entire football history. But on June 16, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, that changed. Sort of. Zidane Iqbal, a midfielder representing Iraq, stepped onto the World Cup pitch as the first footballer of Pakistani origin to play at the FIFA World Cup. He was not wearing green and white. He wore the Iraqi jersey. But for 240 million Pakistanis across the world, that did not matter one bit.
Who Is Zidane Iqbal?
Iqbal was born and raised in Manchester. His father is Pakistani, his mother is Iraqi, and he carries both identities with equal pride onto every pitch he plays on. He began playing at the age of nine when he joined the Manchester United youth academy. He worked his way through the ranks and signed his first professional contract in April 2021. At just 18, he also became the first British South Asian player to feature for Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League. That Champions League appearance against Young Boys at Old Trafford in December 2021 was historic. Nobody talked about it enough at the time. But it planted a seed that has now grown into something far bigger. Born in Manchester, Iqbal was technically eligible to represent three different nations at the international level: England, Iraq through his mother, and Pakistan through his father. He chose Iraq, making his senior debut in January 2022 during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. On 26 March 2024, Iqbal scored his first international goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against the Philippines in a 5-0 away win. He is currently plying his trade at FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie after leaving the Manchester United academy, seeking more consistent playing time.
The Moment He Found Out
What makes Iqbal's story even more human is how he reacted when he learned about this milestone. Speaking to BBC Sport, Iqbal said the realisation caught him completely off guard. "To be honest, I didn't even know it myself. I followed the account that posted it and sent it to my dad straight away. I think we were both surprised. When I tried to qualify for the World Cup with Iraq, I didn't think of anything like this." That is not a rehearsed answer. That is a 23-year-old who was focused on football, not history.
Two Flags, One Pair of Boots
Despite wearing the Iraqi crest, he honors both sides of his family by wearing the Iraqi flag on his left boot and the Pakistani flag on his right boot. That image says more than any press release could. Iqbal added: "I see a lot of people saying that Pakistan now has a nation to support at the World Cup, and they won't be just backing Zidane Iqbal, they will be backing Iraq to go as far as they can in that tournament."
Iraq's World Cup Return
Iraq qualified for the World Cup after an extraordinary 21-game qualifying run, the most fixtures played by any nation, to secure their place at just their second ever tournament. Their only previous appearance was at Mexico 1986, 40 years ago. Group I delivered a brutal welcome. Iraq face Norway in their opener, then Didier Deschamps' France in Philadelphia. The closing fixture pits them against Sadio Mane's Senegal in Toronto. Zidane Iqbal is expected to anchor the midfield alongside Amir Al-Ammari, with Aymen Hussein leading the attack.
Why This Matters Beyond Football
Pakistan, a country of over 200 million people, has never come close to qualifying for a FIFA World Cup. The sport barely registers against cricket's cultural dominance. Yet a 23-year-old midfielder born in Manchester, with a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother, just made history for both nations at once. South Asia, with nearly two billion people, has produced exactly zero World Cup players relative to its population until now. That changes with Iqbal. His story will inspire young Pakistani kids in Lahore, Karachi, Manchester, and Dubai to believe that football is not closed to them. That is not a small thing. That is genuinely historic.
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