MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun granting visas to players from Iraq’s national team ahead of the World Cup intercontinental qualifier scheduled March 31 in Monterrey.
The Iraqi team is facing logistical issues because of disruptions caused by the Iran war.
“On March 8, some players were processed at the Mexican Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and tomorrow other people are scheduled to be processed at the Embassy in Qatar,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a statement late Monday.
The government did not specify the names or how many players were granted visas.
Iraq is set to face the winner of the match between Suriname and Bolivia for a spot in the World Cup — to be in the group with France, Norway and Senegal.
Mexico, the United States and Canada are co-hosting the World Cup, which begins June 11.
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold has asked FIFA to postpone the intercontinental qualifier. With Iraqi airspace closed, Arnold’s squad — containing predominantly players from the domestic league — is unable to fully gather.
Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that it is in contact with the Iraqi Embassy in Mexico and that they are willing “to provide all necessary assistance in documenting the members of the Iraqi national team."
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FILE- Iraqi's head coach Graham Arnold sits on the bench at the start of the 2026 World Cup play off first leg soccer match between UAE and Iraq in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Walid Ibrahim, File)
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid took giant strides toward the Champions League quarterfinals with big wins Tuesday. Liverpool and Barcelona still have work to do.
Bayern thrashed Atalanta 6-1 without top scorer Harry Kane in the starting lineup. And Atletico made under-pressure Tottenham coach Igor Tudor pay for his bold call to drop first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario by racing to a 3-0 lead inside 15 minutes. The Spanish giant eventually won 5-2.
Liverpool needs to overturn a 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in next week's second leg at Anfield and Barcelona needed Lamine Yamal's penalty with the last kick of the game to rescue a 1-1 draw at Newcastle.
Even without the prolific Kane, Bayern all but sealed its place in the last eight with a dominant win at Atalanta.
England captain Kane has scored 47 goals this season for club and country but was only fit enough to make the bench and in his absence Michael Olise scored twice. Serge Gnabry and Nicolas Jackson each scored and set up goals. Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala were also on target for the German champion.
Tottenham endured a nightmare start in Madrid, with backup keeper Antonin Kinsky substituted in the 17th minute after his mistakes led to two of Atletico’s three early goals.
Spurs coach Tudor had opted to leave out first choice Vicario — a decision that backfired spectacularly. Kinsky was making his Champions League debut and his slip and miskick in the sixth gave Marcos Llorente the chance to open the scoring.
Antoine Griezmann made it 2-0 for Atletico before Kinsky miskicked again and Julian Alvarez slotted into an empty net.
Kinsky looked inconsolable when he was replaced by Vicario, who conceded just five minutes after coming on — Robin Le Normand scoring Atletico’s fourth.
“We knew how to take advantage of our opponents’ mistakes to gain a good lead, and now we go into the second leg with a three-goal advantage,” Alvarez said.
Spurs rallied, but it will take an unlikely comeback in the second leg to avoid elimination.
"We gave away three goals at the start, and then it became very difficult for us,” Tudor said.
According stats provider Opta, this was the first time in Tottenham's history that it has lost six games in a row.
Five-time European champion Barcelona was seconds away from defeat when Malick Thiaw brought down Dani Olmo in the box.
Referee Marco Guida pointed to the spot and 18-year-old Yamal had the composure to beat Aaron Ramsdale with the home fans baying for him to miss. His goal was timed at 96 minutes and the fulltime whistle was blown immediately after his spot kick.
“It wasn’t a great game from us, but we have a young team,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. "We have to improve, but we have a lot of potential. We have to make things better, and we will.”
Newcastle led through Harvey Barnes’ close-range effort in the 86th. The forward had also hit the post with a curling effort earlier.
“It’s tough. You score and it’s an amazing feeling — you can feel the fans. We’d played really well,” Barnes said. "To concede late on is really hard to take, but the score is level and we have a second leg to come.”
First it was Juventus, and now Liverpool. Galatasaray is cutting a swath through European soccer's giants.
A 1-0 first-leg win in Istanbul gave the Turkish champion the advantage in this round-of-16 tie.
Mario Lemina's seventh-minute header secured the win for Galatasaray, which stunned Juventus with a 7-5 aggregate victory in the playoffs.
The second leg is next Wednesday.
"We want to win there too, we want to reach the quarter-finals,” Lemina said.
It is the second time Galatasaray has beaten Liverpool this season, having won by the same scoreline in the league phase.
It had chances to take an even bigger lead to Merseyside, with Victor Osimhen's second-half strike ruled out for offside. Liverpool saw Ibrahima Konate's effort disallowed by VAR for handball.
“What I do know is now it’s halftime," Liverpool coach Arne Slot said. “We’ve lost here twice with 1-0 and the good thing is the next game is not played here. It is played at Anfield and our fans can create a similar atmosphere.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, left, shakes hands with Tottenham's goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Bayern's Michael Olise celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal during the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atalanta and FC Bayern Munich in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Newcastle's goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale saves at the feet of Barcelona's Lamine Yamal during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Newcastle United and Barcelona in Newcastle , England, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Atletico Madrid's Robin Le Normand celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, left, gestures after missing a chance during a Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Galatasaray and Liverpool, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen, left, shoots the ball next to Liverpool's Florian Wirtz during a Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Galatasaray and Liverpool, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Galatasaray's players celebrate after teammate Mario Lemina scored the opening goal during a Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Galatasaray and Liverpool, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen celebrates after teammate Mario Lemina scored the opening goal during a Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Galatasaray and Liverpool, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Galatasaray's Mario Lemina, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Galatasaray and Liverpool, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon, center, celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Manchester United in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick smiles during a press conference at St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Monday March 9, 2026, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Newcastle United and Barcelona on Tuesday. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring his side's 2nd goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Villareal in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
