Members of the Australian Iraqi community have swamped coach Graham Arnold at Sydney Airport, celebrating Iraq's drought-breaking FIFA World Cup qualification.
Last week the former Socceroos boss guided Iraq to a 2-1 win over Bolivia in Mexico to secure a place in its first men's World Cup in 40 years.
The players received a massive welcome in Baghdad over the weekend, parading through the city in an open-top bus as large crowds cheered and waved Iraqi flags.
Players received a grand reception in Baghdad to celebrate qualification. (Getty Images: Murtadha Al-Sudani)
Arnold was unable to join those celebrations, but was greeted by hundreds of fans in Sydney who chanted, sang, and played drums.
"Crazy, crazy. I didn't expect this here in Australia. Obviously in Iraq. But it's incredible," Arnold told SBS.
"First, I want to apologise to everyone in Iraq that I couldn't go back there to celebrate due to the airspace shutdown.
"Seeing this here is amazing. Thank you very much.
"I'm just very, very proud of the players and what they did, making many Iraqis happy is very important and that was the main thing."
Arnold took over as Iraq coach in May 2025. (Getty Images: Hector Vivas)
As chants of "Arnie, Arnie, Arnie, oi, oi oi" rang through the terminal, one fan held a sign that said: "Arrived quietly, fulfilled 46 million dreams. Thank you Graham Arnold, you're a legend!'
Police helped escort Arnold away, who smiled as he took in the scene.
"He came in to save us like the hero he is," one young fan said.
"I would love to thank him, we are all here to thank him with our true hearts.
"We as Iraqis came here to support him and show him how much this means to us."
After a poor start to the qualification campaign with the Socceroos, Arnold resigned in September 2024.
Tony Popovic took over soon after and Arnold has been at the helm of Iraq for the past 10 months.
He will become the first Australian to coach two different countries at the World Cup.
Iraq is in a group with France, Norway, and Senegal.
The tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will kick off on June 11.
