"I wear the Iraqi flag on my left side and the Pakistani flag on my right side," Zidane Iqbal said — a small, deliberate gesture he will carry onto football's biggest stage as he prepares to represent Iraq at the 2026 World Cup and, in doing so, become the first player of Pakistani heritage to appear in a men's World Cup.
Iqbal, 23, is already a figure of cross‑border milestones. Born and raised in Manchester, he came through Manchester United's academy, spent more than a decade at the club and later moved to FC Utrecht. He made his senior Iraq debut in 2022 and earlier became the first British South Asian for almost 20 years to play for United in the Champions League when he came off the bench against Young Boys at Old Trafford.
He met the moment with a private, astonished pleasure. "To be honest, I didn't even know it myself," he said after being identified as the first player of Pakistani heritage to play at a men's World Cup, adding: "I followed the account that posted it [that he was the first player of Pakistani heritage to play at a men's World Cup] and sent it to my dad straight away." His account of the exchange was plain and filial: "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."
Those family lines explain the flags on his boots. Iqbal's mother is Iraqi and his father Pakistani; he grew up eligible to represent England, Pakistan or Iraq. He has said, "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." He added, "When people ask me what I feel more connected to, I can't answer. For me, they're both equal."
The achievement carries an unusual friction. Pakistan — a nation of roughly 240 million people and the world's fifth-largest by population — has never reached the men's World Cup finals, has won just one qualifying game in its history and sits 198th in the FIFA world rankings. Yet Pakistani-heritage fans will see themselves represented on the tournament pitch for the first time, even as Iqbal wears Iraq's colours in competition. The Pakistan Football Federation tracked his progress as he rose through the youth ranks; he chose a different path.
Iqbal frames the moment beyond records. "It's about respect and something I carry with a lot of pride," he said of the two flags. "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."
He will not be anonymous on Tuesday — Iqbal is expected to step onto the pitch for Iraq at the 2026 World Cup — but how supporters in Pakistan and the wider Pakistani diaspora will receive a player who represents Iraq remains the tournament's unresolved question: will they claim him as a symbolic first for Pakistani heritage, or see the moment through the lens of national representation?
