After seven months cooling his heels, it took Graham Arnold just five minutes to decide whether his next move was the right one for him – and less than a week to fall in love.

“Mate, it’s been fantastic,” he says from his Baghdad hotel room, swept up in a tidal wave of purpose, possibility and passion.

Arnold has begun one of the most fascinating journeys an Australian coach has dared to take on. The former Socceroos boss, who stepped down in September, was unveiled last Saturday as the new manager of Iraq. They stand on the brink of qualification for their first World Cup in four decades – and after the sacking of his predecessor, Jesus Casas, it is Arnold who has been tasked with delivering it.

If he does, he will become a hero in a nation of 48 million people, most of whom are utterly obsessed with soccer. Which he, of course, knew already. But the extent has shocked him.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he says of the fanaticism for the game in Iraq.

“Mate, I get mobbed. The other night, I was at a game, 25,000 people were singing, ‘Arrrrnold! Arrrrnold! Arrrrnold!’ And I was in a box, a glass window, and they put the light on me to show the fans I was there.

“It’s so exciting. I’m getting goosebumps now. I’ve always got passion when I do the job, but I would love nothing more … what a country to do this with, you know?”

If you’re a mere casual Socceroos fan, the idea of Arnold coaching Iraq might sound a little risky on a number of levels. But if you’re across Asian soccer, and their history, you’d know better.

Ranked No.59 in the world and eighth in the AFC, they were Asian Cup winners in 2007 (when a much younger Arnold was Australia coach, having taken over from Guus Hiddink) and through many years of war and turmoil have become a symbol of national pride, unity and hope.

They have not made the World Cup since 1986, but they are close: one point behind second-placed Jordan and four behind first-placed South Korea in Group B, with their final two fixtures in this round of qualification to come against those two nations, both of which Arnold knows very well from his time with the Socceroos.

Only two wins will guarantee a direct berth, but there is still another round to come, plus the intercontinental play-offs, should they need them.

Arnold’s contract is conditional on getting them to the World Cup, but he believes he has the right squad, including about a dozen or so players based in Europe, some in the strengthening Saudi Pro League, and two young Aussies in A-League pair Mohamed Al-Taay and Charbel Shamoon, who are both of Iraqi descent.

Plus, the full support of the national federation and their president Adnan Dirjal. They’ve called off next weekend’s round of fixtures in the Iraq Stars League so that Arnold can have them on deck for an extended camp at their excellent national facility in Basra – the kind of treatment and infrastructure Arnold could only dream of back home.

For the past week, Arnold and assistant Rob Stanton have been putting in 20-hour days to get up to speed with their squad and plan for the crunch games ahead. The rest of his staff is due to arrive imminently: Rene Meulensteen, his old Socceroos offsider, plus goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac, analyst Adam Barbera and sports science guru Chris Pappas.

“I think we’ve got the players to do it,” Arnold says. “Obviously, South Korea and Jordan are going to be a challenge, tough games. But I do believe that Iraq has the players to win these two games, and that’s a belief and that’s the mentality that the boys have to come in with, that they can do their nation proud.”

When the federation punted Cavas, few – including Arnold – thought they would be eyeing off an Australian replacement. But his experience in the Asian game, particularly against their next opponents, and know-how in cutthroat qualifiers made him a more than sensible choice.

“What I did with Australia … they know I did an over-performing job, and they think that with the quality of players that they’ve got that I can do a good job with them,” he says.

“It took me only five minutes to decide to take this job or not when they rang. It’s a nation that hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since 1986. I missed out as a player four times. I missed as an assistant to Frank Farina – [that’s] five times. I went the sixth time with Guus Hiddink. I know the effect it can have on the nation, on the fans, the media, everybody.

“I just thought to make this country proud, and to come across here and to help them qualify, would be just incredible.”

As soon as the contract was finalised, Arnold jumped on a plane and began settling into his new country.

Though the Australian government’s advice to ordinary citizens is a blanket “do not travel” ban, the image that most Aussies would have of Iraq – and of Baghdad, a river city home to 8 million people, in particular – is “absolutely out of date”, Arnold says.

“It’s a beautiful city,” he says. “A big city. Super safe. The people are just so polite and so nice. But I have to say … 48 million soccer fanatics who are just crazy about the game of soccer. Basically, the city nearly shut down and stopped last weekend when Barcelona played Real Madrid. Five o’clock in the afternoon, kick-off here, mate, it was just TV screens everywhere, in parks and restaurants and cafes. Everything’s full, and all the kids and the families are watching.”

Arnold is a first-time visitor; whenever the Socceroos have played against Iraq in the past, and he has been involved, they have played on neutral territory due to security concerns. But since successfully hosting the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2023, Iraq has been able to bring soccer to their people again.

“The whole country needs to be on board, and they are,” he says. “Everyone is on the same page. They are desperate to qualify for a World Cup. The players, they’ve got great mentalities, great work ethic. Their work ethic is insane, when you watch the games back.”

So far, Arnold has watched five domestic matches in person, and has been impressed with the standard and tempo, particularly given the climate; the average temperature is 37 degrees, and getting hotter.

“Tactically, they could be a little bit better,” he says. “But that’s my job to work on that when I get the boys in the camp.”

This is only the second time Arnold has worked outside Australia. Though his time with the Socceroos did not end on the best note, he has only positive reflections on his six-year tenure.

“I’m super proud of what I did there,” he says.

“I’m patting myself on the back a bit here. I was the first Australian-born coach ever to take Australia to a World Cup. We finished 11th in the world, the highest we’ve ever finished. I’d done everything I possibly could have done. I was cooked. And when I say cooked, I was overworked. After six years, I’d got the maximum out of the playing group, I believe.

“But the funny thing is, I’ve put myself in a position I didn’t want Australia to be in when I resigned. The reason I resigned after two games was to give Popa [Tony Popovic, his replacement] eight games to qualify. But I didn’t want to continue on, and then maybe after the eighth game, I resigned, or I got sacked and left the coach two games – and that’s exactly the situation I’ve walked into in Iraq.”

Arnold says he’s been inundated with text messages of support from his former Socceroos players, who he thinks are a good chance of sealing their own World Cup spot against Japan, who have already qualified, at Perth’s Optus Stadium on June 5.

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“They’ve got to go for it,” he says. “The full focus obviously should be just one game at a time. You win that, you’re through, and you celebrate going to the World Cup in Perth.”

There’s nothing he’d want more than for that to happen, he says, and there’s more than one reason: to avoid any possibility of crossing paths with the Socceroos in the fourth round of qualifying, should they and Iraq finish either third or fourth in their respective groups.

While it may not happen, it’s a chance, and that’s too high for Arnold to even consider talking about right now.

His gaze, as it should be, is fixed on what’s right in front of him – which is one special journey.