Mohamed Al-Taay

Mohamed Al-Taay (born 15 June 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Wellington Phoenix. Born in Australia, he represents the Iraq national team internationally.

Early life
Al-Taay was born in Campbelltown, New South Wales with two older brothers and one younger sister. His parents, who hailed from Iraq, fled to Australia in 1994 due to the conflicts under Saddam Hussein. His father fled Iraq in 1991 to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia before moving to Australia.

Al-Taay began playing football at the age of six with his father and brothers and attended Campbelltown Performing Arts High School growing up. He joined his first football clubs with Blacktown City and Marconi Stallions in their junior age groups.

Despite being born in Australia, Al-Taay developed interest in representing the Iraq national football team. He is a devoted muslim and frequently participates in ramadan. Al-Taay is fluent in Arabic and English, having learnt the former first growing up.

Newcastle Jets
Having come through the Western Sydney Wanderers academy and NPL program, Al-Taay joined Newcastle Jets ahead of the 2021–22 season, in the hope of breaking through for his A-League debut.

At the conclusion of the 2022–23 A-League season, Al-Taay departed Newcastle after 29 appearances in all competitions across two seasons.

Wellington Phoenix
Al-Taay signed for Wellington Phoenix ahead of the 2023–24 season.

International career
On 21 May 2024, Al-Taay was named in Iraq’s 26 man squad for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Indonesia and Vietnam. He made his debut in the former on 6 June 2024, substituting Osama Rashid in the 86th minute as Iraq beat Indonesia with the score of 2–0.

Style of play
Al-Taay is primarily positioned as a defensive midfielder but is also able to play as a centre-back and right back. He is characterised more to be a ball-winning midfielder and is noted for his work rate and defensive abilities by Giancarlo Italiano. He is also described as having a similar playing style towards Cameron Devlin.