Iraq captain and leading goal scorer Younis Mahmoud and midfielder Nashat Akram, a veteran of more than 110 games for his country, have announced their immediate retirements just days ahead of the team's Asian confederation World Cup qualifier against Australia.
A posting on the Football Federation Australia website Sunday said that Mahmoud, who has scored 47 goals in 116 games, and Akram, retired ahead of the team's departure for Sydney.
Iraq was eliminated from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when it lost 1-0 to Japan last week.
Australia can qualify for its third World Cup in succession if it beats Iraq on Tuesday and finishes second in its group behind Japan, which was the first team to qualify for the World Cup.
FFA said in a statement Sunday that all tickets had been sold for the match in the 80,000-seat former Olympic stadium in western Sydney.
