# From Man United's academy to the World Cup, with Zidane Iqbal

An episode of [Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1495072403), 8 Jun 2026, 55 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6819aed5eb146d8e3506a450/e/6a26af63e3e0d3141ff6c2fc/media.mp3

Zidane Iqbal has been on a journey; that's a cliche, of course, but in this case it's also literally true... and there are more air miles incoming. The Manchester United academy graduate was raised by a Pakistani father and Iraqi mother just a stone's throw from Old Trafford. He became the first British-born South Asian to represent the club when selected as a substitute in a Champions League fixture in Switzerland. Now playing for Utrecht in the dutch Eredivisie he has also adopted his mother's country of origin as his own, helping them through Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, even scoring himself in the Philippines. Iraq will be in a "group of death" with Norway, Senegal, and France in the US & Canada having qualified by beating Bolivia in a play-off in Mexico. Where next on this footballing odyssey? The Premier League? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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