Iraq scored a penalty in the 17th minute of injury time to beat the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in the second leg of their 2026 World Cup qualifying tie on Tuesday and secure a place in the inter-confederation playoffs.
Substitute Mohanad Ali, who plays in the UAE for Dibba, and Amir Al-Ammari scored in Basra as Graham Arnold's men came from behind to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory after last week's 1-1 first-leg draw.
Iraq, whose only appearance at a World Cup was a group-stage exit in Mexico in 1986, progressed to the six-team playoffs where the last two tickets to the finals will be decided.
The UAE broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute, as Yahia Nader slipped the ball through for Brazilian-born forward Caio Lucas to fire the ball past Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hachim.
But Iraq hit back midway through the second half when Mohanad Ali headed home Al-Ammari's free-kick.
The home side piled on the pressure late on, with Mohanad Ali missing two good chances to score a winner.
But VAR awarded Iraq the latest of penalties for a handball, and Al-Ammari stepped up to net the spot-kick and keep alive his nation's hopes of ending their 40-year wait to play in a World Cup.
Bolivia, New Caledonia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also booked their places at the inter-confederation playoffs.
The other two play-off spots will be decided by the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers later on Tuesday, with Jamaica and Panama currently in position to qualify for the mini-tournament.
