Zidane Iqbal is set to become the first player of Pakistani heritage to play in a men's World Cup if he steps on to the pitch for Iraq on Tuesday. The 23-year-old would do it while representing Iraq, not Pakistan, which gives the moment its sharp edge.
He said the news caught him off guard. “To be honest, I didn't even know it myself,” Iqbal said, adding that he sent the information to his dad straight away after seeing it.
That reaction fits a player whose family ties run through both countries. Iqbal was born and raised in Manchester, grew up in England, and is Pakistani through his father and Iraqi through his mother. He wears the Iraqi flag on his left side and the Pakistani flag on his right side on his boots.
Zidane Iqbal and Pakistan
Pakistan’s football team have never reached a World Cup, despite a population of more than 240 million people and a place as the fifth largest population in the world. The national side has won just one qualifying game in its entire history and sits 198th in the Fifa world rankings.
Iqbal’s possible appearance would land beyond Iraq’s result. Fans in Pakistan and young footballers would see a player who came through Manchester United's academy, moved on to FC Utrecht, and still carried both sides of his family with him. He said he wants that to matter to others: “I'm still young, but I'll be the first Pakistani player to play in the World Cup, so hopefully a few kids that aspire to be a footballer will look at that and believe they can do it too, because football is a hard journey.”
Manchester United academy path
Before Utrecht, Iqbal became the first British South Asian for almost 20 years to play in the Champions League. That route has made his name familiar in more than one place, but Tuesday carries the clearest milestone: a potential World Cup first tied to Pakistani heritage.
He also said the honour surprised him. “When I tried to qualify for the World Cup with Iraq, I didn't think of anything like this,” he said. He added: “My dad is Pakistani. He's my father, the man I respect the most in my life, who helped me so much in my career.”
On Tuesday for Iraq
The complication is simple and central: the history would be written for Pakistani heritage, but the cap would belong to Iraq. Iqbal has built his career in Manchester, England, and Utrecht, yet the next step is still one more appearance on Tuesday.
He put it plainly himself: “I play for Iraq, grew up in England, but my dad was born in Pakistan. My grandad was a first-generation there, so I have a lot of respect for that side of my family.” If he gets on the pitch, that family line reaches the World Cup for the first time.
