In March 2002, while many were questioning his temperament and lack of experience, coach Adnan Hamad named Mahmoud in his squad for Iraq's training camp in Italy and gave him his first start against Serie B club Cagliari Calcio and he later went on to score. Mahmoud's full international debut was against Syria in a friendly in Baghdad on 19 July 2002. His 1st goal came in the final of the 2002 WAFF Championship in the 89th minute to take the game to extra-time, where Iraq won through Haidar Mahmoud's golden goal.
In March 2002, while many were questioning his temperament and lack of experience, coach Adnan Hamad named Mahmoud in Iraq's squad for their training camp in Italy and gave him his first start against Serie B club Cagliari Calcio. He later scored and made his full international debut for the national team against Syria in a friendly match in Baghdad on July 19th, 2002. His first goal came in the final of the 2002 WAFF Championship, securing Iraq's victory with a golden goal in extra time.