The adventure of the Iraqi national team towards i World Cup 2026 suffered an abrupt bureaucratic stop as soon as it touched the ground of the United States. The protagonist of the story is Aymen Husseinthe symbolic striker of the Asian selection, whose decisive goal against Bolivia gave the country a historic qualification for the final phase of the tournament after 40 years of absence. Born in 1996 to Al-Safrathe Iraqi striker had to overcome major tragedies before establishing himself as a center forward of international standing. Hussein’s childhood was violently disrupted by the war, in fact his fatherarmy officer, was killed in an attack on Al-Qaeda in 2008, and a few years later his brother was kidnapped by ISIS, disappearing into thin air.
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Aymen Hussein detained at the airport, what happened?
Landed at the international airport O’Hare in Chicago together with the rest of the team coming from Dubai, the footballer was immediately detained by the American authorities for thorough security checks. According to what emerged from sources of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and local media, officials of the Homeland Security and of Customs and Border Protection they carried out strict administrative checks, also inspecting his electronic devices to clarify previous visas and international movements.
LYON, FRANCE – JULY 27: Aymen Hussein #18 of Team Iraq celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the men’s Group B match between Argentina and Iraq during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de Lyon on July 27, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
The situation has been resolved 7 hours later thanks to the intervention of the Iraqi embassy, which collaborated with the airport staff to clarify everything, eliminating suspicions. After the very long wait, the attacker finally obtained the formal entry visa, thus being able to leave the airport Chicago to rejoin his teammates ahead of the friendly match against Venezuela.
However, not all members of the expedition went the same way, given that the team’s official photographer, Talal Salahwas permanently denied access to US territory for security reasons related to confidential information. Hussein wanted to reassure his fans by publishing a story on social networks in which appears smiling as he makes the victory sign, leaving behind a decidedly stressful off-field misadventure.
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