Australian Graham Arnold, head coach of Iraq, praised his team's performance in the World Cup after banning social media. Iraq qualified for the tournament after defeating Bolivia 2-1 in Mexico in an inter-confederation playoff, marking a return to the finals after a 40-year absence. Aymen Hussein scored the only goal of the game. Arnold, who previously led Australia to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, acknowledged the difficult circumstances facing Iraq amid the conflict in the Middle East and banned social media as a distraction.