Zidane Iqbal ba zai iya ɓoye farin cikinsa ba. "Zai zama cimma buri kuma ba zan iya jira ba," dan wasan tsakiya na Iraq ya gaya wa Sky Sports. Bayan taimakawa ƙasar ta cancanci FIFA Kofin Duniya 2026, Iqbal yana shirye-shirye don abin da zai zama shiga ƙasar a gasar a karon farko cikin shekaru 40.

Shiga na ƙarshe ya kasance a shekarar 1986 — lokaci mai tsawo kafin a haife shi. Wannan ɗan wasa mai shekara 23 wanda aka haife shi kuma ya girma a Manchester ya yarda cewa FIFA Kofin Duniya 2010 shine fitarwa mafi tsufa da yake tuna. Sa'ad da aka tambaye shi game da kafar Zinedine Zidane a wasan karshe na 2006 — lokaci wanda ke da alaƙa da sunansa na shahara — ya yi dariya yana cewa: "Na ga wayoyin sauti amma yana da shekara uku kawai!"

Ƙwallon da ya kunna al'umma

Iqbal, wanda ke wasa don Utrecht a Eredivisie, yana da cancanci wakiltar Iraq ta hannun mahaifiyarsa. Da sauri ya zama abin so na magoya baya a lokacin cancantar, inda ya zura kwallo mai mahimmanci a kan Indonesiya. "Yana da mamaki sosai zura wannan kwallo saboda hakan ne na kasance na jira," ya tuna.

Wannan kwallo ɗaya tana bai isa tabbatar da cancantar ba. Iraq har yanzu tana buƙatar nasara a wasan share fage kan Boliviya don kawo ƙarshen shekaru arba'in na rashin shiga. Iqbal ya zauna a benci yana kallon wannan wasan mai mahimmanci, yana dawo daga rauni mai tsawo, yayin da abokan wasansa suka kammala aikin ba tare da shi ba. "Sa'ad da kake wasa, adrenaline ta karɓi iko," ya bayyana — wanda ya sa ya zama mafi wahala, ba mafi sauƙi ba, zama mai kallo.

Bukukuwan da suka biyo baya sun kasance na musamman. An ɗauki hoto na Iqbal yana sanye da sombrero a Mexico daren nasarar wasan share fage, kewaye da abokan wasansa da yake kiran su "iyali ɗaya mai girma." Saƙonnin tallafi da suka mamaye daga ko'ina a duniya sun yi masa tasiri mai zurfi. Tun daga lokacin, mayarwar hankalinsa guda ɗaya ya kasance kaiwa mafi kyawun yanayi na jiki. "Tabbatar da zama kashi 100 bisa ɗari," ya ce — har yana yin zaman horo ɗaya da ɗaya a Manchester a ranakun hutu.

Tunawa da Manchester United da Cristiano Ronaldo

Iqbal ya shiga Manchester United yana da shekara takwas kuma ya kwashe shekaru 12 a kulob ɗin. A Oktoba 2021, yana da shekara 18, ya shigo a matsayin mai maye a wasan rukuni na UEFA Champions League kan Young Boys, ya zama ɗan wasa na farko daga Kudancin Asiya ya wakilci United kuma na farko ya bayyana a UEFA Champions League. "Na mai da hankali kan kwallon kafa kawai, ba don zama na farko a wannan ko wancan ba," ya ce. "Amma yana da kyau sanin cewa za ka iya ba wa yara wahayi."

A lokacin da yake Old Trafford, Iqbal ya yi horo tare da Cristiano Ronaldo — abin mamaki ga ɗan wasa wanda ya girma yana kallon sa. "Ganin wani da kake wasa da shi a FIFA sannan a yi horo da shi ya kasance abu mai ban mamaki," ya ce. "Shi mai yiwuwa ɗaya ne daga cikin mafi girma na kowane lokaci, idan ba mafi girma ba."

Abin da ya ɗauka daga Ronaldo, sama da komai, wata tunani ce. "Tunaninsa kawai, yadda yake mai da hankali, yadda yake ɗaukar abubuwa da mahimmanci. Amma shi kuma mutum ne mai kyau sosai kuma mai natsuwa. Shi mai sauƙi ne."

Girma cikin sauri a Utrecht

Yanke shawara na barin Manchester United ya kasance nashi. Yana son wasan ƙungiyar farko kuma ya yi imani cewa Eredivisie ta samar da yanayi mai dacewa. "Mafi kyawun gasar da zan tafi. Ta fasaha," ya bayyana. Raunuka biyu sun yi cikas da lokacin sa a Utrecht, amma yana jaddada cewa ya dawo da ƙarfi daga biyun. Fuskantar kwallon kulob mai gasa — a gaban filayen cike, tare da matsin lamba na gaske a kowane wasa — ya hanzarta ci gabansa.

Ƙaura zuwa ƙasashen waje yana da shekara 20 ya kuma tilasta masa girma cikin sauri a wajen fili. "Sa'ad da ka isa can, gaskiya ta same ka," ya yarda. "Hatsin da madara a cikin firiji ba za su kasance a can ba a kanta a karshen mako." Shekaru uku baya, yana magana a fili game da kadaici da ya iya zo tare da zama shi kaɗai. "Sa'ad da ka tashi daga barci a ranar huta kuma gida ya fari, wannan shine mafi girma." Amma yana alfahari da mutum wanda hakan ya yi daga gare shi.

Da shekara ɗaya da ya rage a kwantiraginsa tare da Utrecht, dawowar Ingila ba ta waje da tebur ba. "Ina rasa shi sosai. Za mu ga abin da zai faru." Da farko kafin duk wannan, akwai FIFA Kofin Duniya 2026.

Ƙungiyar mutuwa

Cire kuɗi bai kasance mai tausayi da Iraq ba. Za su fuskanci Norway ta Erling Haaland, sannan France — "ƙungiyarsu tana da ban mamaki," Iqbal ya yarda — kafin rufe matakin rukuni kan Sénégal. Kocin Iraq Graham Arnold ya fi son kiran wannan jadawalin "ƙungiyar sha'awa" ko "ƙungiyar dama," kuma Iqbal ya rungumi wannan ra'ayi.

"Babu wanda yake tsammanin mu fita daga ƙungiyar don haka muna da ƙarancin matsin lamba," ya ce. "Kwallon kafa ba a buga shi a takarda ba. An sami mamaki a baya. Me ya sa ba mu ba?" Iraq ta karya, kamar yadda yake cewa, "la'anar shekaru 40." Yanzu, ɗansu daga Manchester yana mafarkin wani abu mafi girma.