As Guus Hiddink's offsider in 2005 and the man who rolled the dice on Andrew Redmayne's Grey Wiggle routine, Graham Arnold knows a thing or two about walking the high-stakes tightrope of qualifying for a World Cup.
Arnold's place in Australian football folklore is already secured after leading the Socceroos on an inspired run to the round of 16 in 2022 where they pushed eventual champions Argentina all the way.
But four years on from Redmayne's penalty heroics in a qualifying play-off against Peru, the 62-year-old faces what is arguably the biggest challenge of his coaching career on Wednesday (2pm AEDT) as he attempts to guide Iraq to their first World Cup in 40 years.
