Zidane Iqbal

Zidane Ammar Iqbal (Arabic: زيدان عمار إقبال; born 27 April 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Utrecht. Born in England, he plays for the Iraq national team.

Zidane Iqbal

Iqbal with Manchester United in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Zidane Ammar Iqbal[1]
Date of birth	(2003-04-27) 27 April 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth	Manchester, England[2]
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Utrecht
Number	14
Youth career
	Sale United
0000–2021	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2023	Manchester United	0	(0)
2023	Jong Utrecht	1	(0)
2023–	Utrecht	35	(1)
International career‡
2021	Iraq U23	2	(0)
2022–	Iraq	20	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:13, 19 August 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:50, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Iqbal joined Manchester United's youth system aged nine. He made his first-team debut in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2021. Iqbal represented Iraq at under-23 level before making his senior international debut in January 2022.

Early life

Born in Manchester to a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother, Iqbal played for local side Sale United from the age of four before joining Manchester United at the age of nine.^[3]

Club career

Manchester United

Iqbal signed his first professional contract with Manchester United in April 2021.^[4][5] He made his first-team debut for Manchester United on 8 December 2021 as an 89th-minute substitute in a UEFA Champions League match against Young Boys.^[6] Thus, he became the first British-born South Asian as well the first Iraqi to play for the club, and the first ever British South Asian to play in the Champions League.^[7][8]

Utrecht

On 23 June 2023, Iqbal announced that he would be leaving Manchester United to join a new club, subject to registration and international clearance.^[9] His move to Utrecht was announced and finalised on 26 June, on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.^[10]

International career

Iqbal was eligible to represent England, Iraq, and Pakistan at international level.^[11]

In May 2021, he received an Iraqi passport, and has represented Iraq at youth international level.^[12][13] In June 2021, he was called up to the Iraq under-20 team for the 2021 Arab Cup U-20. However, he was refused to travel by Manchester United, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[14]

In September 2021, Iqbal received his first call up to the Iraq U23 for a training camp in UAE. He made his debut on 4 September against the UAE U23, making the starting line-up. In October 2021, Iqbal was named as part of the 23-man Iraq U23 squad for the 2021 WAFF U-23 Championship in Saudi Arabia.^[15] On 8 October, Iqbal scored his first goal for the Iraq U23 team as the captain of his side.^[16]

Senior

In January 2022, Iqbal was called up to the Iraq national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iran and Lebanon.^[17] He made his debut in a 1–0 loss to Iran on 27 January 2022.^[18]

On 26 March 2024, Iqbal scored his first international goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Philippines in a 5–0 away win.^[19]

Style of play

Iqbal is a tricky and versatile midfielder who mostly plays in the centre.^[20]

Personal life

As one of a large number of British Asians in association football, Iqbal was part of an FA content series to support South Asian Heritage Month in 2021.^[21]

Iqbal is Muslim, and cites Mesut Özil as an inspiration for him.^[22][23] Iqbal has stated in interviews that he is fluent in English and can speak some Punjabi and Arabic.^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 April 2025^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United U21	2021–22[26]	—			—		—		—		3[b]	1	3	1
	2022–23[27]	—			—		—		—		3[b]	0	3	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1	6	1
Manchester United	2021–22[26]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[c][note 1]	0	—		1	0
	2022–23[27]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Jong Utrecht	2023–24	Eerste Divisie	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
Utrecht	2023–24[31]	Eredivisie	17	0	1	0	—		—		1[d]	0	19	0
	2024–25[32]	Eredivisie	18	1	3	0	—		—		—		21	1
	2025–26[33]	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		35	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	40	1
Career total			36	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	7	1	48	2

1. Includes KNVB Cup
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy
3. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in Eredivisie European play-offs

International

As of match played 14 October 2025^[34]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iraq	2022	2	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	13	1
	2025	3	1
Total		20	2

Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 March 2024	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines	10	Philippines	4–0	5–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	11 October 2025	King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	19	Indonesia	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Individual

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: December 2024^[35], March 2025^[36]

Notes

1. Soccerbase's stats for the match between Manchester United and Young Boys on 8 December 2021 don't include the late substitutions of Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata for Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage, respectively.^[28][29] Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he should have one more appearance for Manchester United than given on his Soccerbase page.^[30]