Brit Zidane Iqbal is first Pak-heritage player at WC, representing mother’s Iraq

While his father is of Pakistan heritage, Zidane’s mother Ayat is an Iraqi and that’s how he qualified to play for the Lions of Mesopotamia. She was born in Samawah before her parents left to the UK because of war. With both Pakistan and Iraq being close to his heart, as a mark of respect he wears both the country’s flag on his boots. “I wear the Iraqi flag on my left side and the Pakistani flag on my right side. I think that’s because I respect both sides. When people ask me what I feel more connected to, I can’t answer. For me, they’re both equal. It’s about respect and something I carry with a lot of pride,” he says.

Playing for Iraq had been completely accidental and happened via a random Instagram message. At one point word had spread around the promising talent coming out of Manchester United with none sure about Zidane’s background and nationality. The first message was from an Indonesian fan, who mistook him for being eligible to play for the south-east Asian country. But once people got to know about his Iraq connection, it all unfolded rather quickly for Zidane.

“There’s a big Instagram page that follows Iraqis across the world and they got in contact with me and asked if it was true that I was an Iraqi,” Iqbal told The Athletic. The news went viral and soon, officials from Iraq Football Association were engaged in a series of video calls with Zidane and his parents, asking their son to commit to playing for Iraq. And for the first time in 2021, Zidane would set foot on Iraqi soil.

“The culture-shock hit me. I was really surprised and honestly, the first time, I didn’t enjoy it. Then I went a few more times and started to understand the culture a bit more. Baghdad, Basra and Erbil in Kurdistan are beautiful cities. Baghdad has really developed a lot over the past few years. They’re opening one of the biggest malls in the Middle East. When people hear about Iraq, they don’t think we have nice stuff too,” he says.

As the visits became frequent, it didn’t take long for Zidane to accept Iraq as his home. “All the love and support from the fans in Iraq and across the world messaging me and messaging my parents, and how hard the FA tried to bring me… When someone shows so much love, it’s only right that you feel it, you know? To go to the country of my mother and be able to see Iraq for myself, see the people and experience the atmosphere, food, music, everything. You learn a lot more.”

Born and brought up in Manchester, Zidane was once a product of Manchester United’s youth academy. Aged only 8, he signed for the English giants and spent 12 years at the club. At 18, he made his first team debut in the UEFA Champions League against Young Boys.

“It was probably one of the best days of my life,” he told Sky Sports. “I did not expect to come on. I just thought I would warm up, sit down and watch the game.” Instead, he was introduced with few minutes left before the final whistle. “The ball took forever to go out as well!”

But beyond his debut, the most memorable moment for Zidane was the training sessions with Cristiano Ronaldo. In one of the practice sessions, he was told to mark the Portuguese great. The instructions were clear, just stand still and shadow play. “I got told, ‘Just don’t do anything stupid. No elbows, no nothing’. So he stood and saw Ronaldo net in a goal unchallenged. “Just to see him in real life compared to FIFA (the video game), because sometimes FIFA’s face scan might be a bit off, you know?”

At Manchester United, with the first team opportunities not opening up, Zidane would move to Dutch club Utrecht, where he is an integral part of the squad. The goal is to get back to Premier League, but before that there is the World Cup that Iraq has waited for 40 years.