A story bigger than football.
Ayman Hussein 🇮🇶 welcomed by the Prime Minister… with his mother by his side.
His father was killed by Al-Qaeda. His brother was kidnapped by ISIS and remains missing to this day.
Since his teenage years, he carried the weight of providing for his family.
Today, he carries a nation’s pride. ❤️🇮🇶
From @TheAthleticFC: No country has worked harder to reach this summer’s World Cup than Iraq, a team that can tell a dozen stories of family displacement. “I don’t think people understand how much we’ve been through as a country and people.”
https://t.co/m2heBuluQN
Iraq beat UAE via a penalty in the 17th minute of injury time to qualify for the inter-confederation playoffs in March 🔥
They have not been to the World Cup since 1986 🇮🇶