Iraqi men's football coach Casas was dismissed due to a sluggish performance in the world qualifiers, and he almost coached South Korea

The head coach of the Iraqi national team, Jesús Casas (51, Spain), who was considered a candidate for the head coach of the South Korean national football team, was eventually removed due to poor results. The Iraqi Football Association (IFA) issued a statement on the 15th Beijing time, saying: "Coach Casas and his coaching staff have seriously violated their contractual obligations and decided to terminate the contract. ”

The head coach of the Iraqi national team, Jesús Casas, has stepped down

Casas's dismissal was foreseeable after the Iraqi men's football team lost 1-2 to Palestine in the 8th round of Group B of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone 3 Qualifiers on the 26th of last month.

Against Kuwait, Iraq, who had drawn 2-2, were beaten 2-1 by a slightly inferior Palestinian side at the end of March, and local media predicted that he would never be able to coach the Iraqi national team again.

In the 8th round of the third stage of the World Cup Asian qualifiers (round of 18), Palestine and Iraq competed

At that time, the Iraqi Football Federation did not issue an official position on the fate of Casas, and the coach of Casas also posted on the social networking service (SNS): "Thank you for everything. "Coach Casas, who has been in command of the Iraqi national team since 2022, was considered the first choice of candidates in the selection process for the head coach of the Korean national team last year. After the replacement of Klinsmann's head coach in February last year, his name appeared among the candidates contacted by the Korean Football Association in the search for a new head coach.

Iraq is provisionally ranked in the 3rd stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses (12 points), behind South Korea (4 wins, 4 draws, 16 points) and Jordan (3 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss, 13 points), and is ranked 3rd among the 6 countries in Group B.