Zaid Ismail
 |
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zaid Ismail Al-Dulaimi | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 January 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Diyala, Iraq | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al-Talaba | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Al-Naft | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Diyala | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Newroz | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al-Talaba | 49 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Iraq U23 | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Iraq | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 April 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Zaid Ismail Al-Dulaimi (Arabic: زيد اسماعيل الدليمي; born 3 January 2002) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Iraqi club Al-Talaba and the Iraq national team.[1]
Club career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Zaid first started getting regular playing time at local club Diyala in the Iraqi second division, where he quickly became their most important player, leading them to a top-half finish in his final season at the club in 2022, before moving up to Iraq’s top tier with Kurdish club Newroz, where he also quickly established himself as a key player.[2]
Al-Talaba
[edit]In January 2024, Iraqi giants Al-Talaba signed Ismail.
Zaid started the 2025–26 Stars League season strongly, scoring against Zakho in the opening game[3] and establishing himself as a key player for Al-Talaba, playing 20 out of their opening 22 matches, while registering 4 goal involvements.[4]
In early 2026, reports quickly started circulating all across Iraqi social media pages and channels that Saudi Pro League side Al-Najma were in talks to sign the midfielder, but no move materialised before the winter transfer window closed.
International career
[edit]Iraq U-23
[edit]Zaid received his first international call-ups in March and July 2023 with the Iraq U-23s during their preparations for the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.[5][6]
Iraq
[edit]Zaid broke into the Iraqi national team at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, where he made his debut and a further two appearances, putting down big performances and being a standout for Iraq during the tournament.[7]
Following the Arab Cup, Ismail was called up to Iraq’s squad to face Bolivia in Mexico for a play-off match which would determine the final spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he went on to play as Iraq won the match to qualify for their first World Cup in 40 years.[8]
Career Statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 3 April 2026[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Al-Talaba | 2023–24 | Iraq Stars League | ? | 1 | ? | ? | - | - | ? | 1 |
| Al-Talaba | 2024–25 | Iraq Stars League | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 29 | 0 |
| Al-Talaba | 2025–26 | Iraq Stars League | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 21 | 4 |
| Career total | 48 | 5 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 50 | 5 | ||
- ↑ Includes Iraq FA Cup
International
[edit]- As of 3 April 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iraq | 2025 | 3 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honours
[edit]Iraq U23
- AFC U-23 Asian Cup third place: 2024
References
[edit]- ↑ "Zaid Ismail". BeSoccer. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "لاعبي نوروز" (in Arabic). الداعي. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "فوز للطلبة" (in Arabic). Shafaq. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "زيد اسماعيل" (in Arabic). WinWin. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "ضمت 50 لاعباً" (in Arabic). Shafaq. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "مدرب منتخبنا" (in Arabic). AlRabiaa. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "زيد اسماعيل" (in Arabic). WinWin. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "لاعب المنتخب الوطني" (in Arabic). المعلومة. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "Zaid Ismail". BeSoccer. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- 2002 births
- Living people
- People from Diyala Province
- Iraqi men's footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Al-Naft SC players
- Diyala SC players
- Newroz SC players
- Al-Talaba SC players
- Iraq men's youth international footballers
- Iraq men's international footballers
- 2026 FIFA World Cup players
- 21st-century Iraqi sportsmen