From being shepherded out of Iraq as a baby to growing up on the mean streets of Toxteth in Liverpool, Iraqi striker Ali al-Hamadi’s journey to the World Cup has been challenging.

The 24-year-old will draw on all the qualities he has accrued from his tough upbringing when he tries to extend his country’s stay at the World Cup when they play Senegal in their final Group I game on Friday.

The first Iraqi player to appear in the Premier League — for Ipswich in August 2024 — he came close to scoring against France in the 3-0 defeat earlier in the tournament.

The agony on his face in that game, shrugging off pain in his leg, was nothing to what has come before.

“I’ve been through loads of adversity,” he told the Guardian in 2023.

His father Ibrahim’s courage in opposing then dictator Saddam Hussein led to him being imprisoned and tortured. Al-Hamadi, aged just one, was taken by his mother Asseel to the safety of Jordan during the second Gulf War in 2003.

“(My father) was an activist and part of a peaceful protest against the dictatorship within the nation,” al-Hamadi told the website of his then club Swansea in 2019.

“One day, he and other members of the group were raided and taken to prison.

“From there, they wrote to the Iraqi embassy in the UK explaining the situation and were subsequently released and ended up coming here.”

Once his father had settled in England, and despite being unable to pursue his chosen profession of law, the rest of the family joined him.

Although they were free from the violence that gripped Iraq following the fall of Saddam in 2003, life was hardly easy in Toxteth.

The neighbourhood of Liverpool is renowned as the birthplace of John Conteh, the world light heavyweight boxing champion in the 1970s, but also riots in 1981.

“Some days we did not really have anything to eat, but my dad would bring as much as he could for us,” he recalled.

“It was always tough but I have happy memories because, regardless, my parents always tried to provide as much as they could for me.”

‘Bit more hunger’ 

He did not have it easy outside his happy home life.

“I was racially abused in school and got into a lot of fights,” he told TheAsianGame.net in 2023.

“In football too, during some academy games, I got called certain hurtful names.

“You just smile, be polite and stand up for yourself. I have accepted that I can’t change other people’s perceptions.

“Instead, I’ve always focused on how I can help myself and control my path.”

He showed his strength of character when he chose football over going down potentially a more lucrative route — a life of crime.

“Around Toxteth, a lot of people get caught up in drugs and violence,” he told the Swansea website.

“There were times when I nearly dropped into it because of hanging around the wrong people, but I came through it.”

He resolved to focus on football.

“I used to go out on the streets all the time and put two jumpers down as goalposts. It was always an escape from what was happening in the local area,” he said.

His wise choice has paid off internationally. He scored a memorable goal in Iraq’s 2-1 World Cup play-off win over Bolivia.

A goal against Senegal would strengthen his case for Ipswich to give him another go in the Premier League next season — he is presently on loan at third-tier Luton.

Whatever happens he will take it in his stride.

“I feel like it’s a special part of me that gives me an edge, a bit more hunger and a lot more perspective on things because of the sacrifices my family had to make,” he said.

“I always have that in the back of my mind.”