Iraq and Norway will begin their 2026 World Cup campaigns on Tuesday night, when they clash at Boston Stadium.
No side from Group I has played a game yet, but Tuesday’s contestants will be playing catchup due to the fact France and Senegal face each other a day earlier, and falling behind early in the group stage could be problematic.
Iraq were not always certain that they would progress to the tournament, with the country’s governing bodies alarmed enough to sack boss Jesus Casas following a defeat against Palestine in March 2025.
Australian Graham Arnold was appointed in his stead two months later, and he inherited a team that were at risk of elimination from the AFC qualifiers, though he managed to guide the squad through the third, fourth and fifth rounds and into the inter-confederation playoffs.
When Iraq competed at the World Cup in 1986, they failed to take any points from their three group clashes, suffering defeats to Paraguay, Belgium and Mexico while scoring just once.
The nation arrive in North America having played three friendlies since their triumph against Bolivia, with Iraq beating Andorra 1-0 in May, drawing 1-1 with Spain on June 4 and losing 2-0 against Venezuela four days later.
Norway’s path across the Atlantic might have been fraught with challenges in prior years given they were in a qualification group with Italy, but the Scandinavians’ flawless campaign saw them collect all 24 points on offer.
The Norwegians’ most recent World Cup finals appearance was at the 1998 edition in France, where they advanced out of their group but exited at the round of 16 stage following 1-0 loss against Italy.
Tuesday will be the first ever meeting between Norway and Iraq, but though it is difficult to make judgements about how they might fare against each other, the European side are ranked 26 places higher in 31st than their opponents in FIFA’s global table.
The last time that the Norwegians encountered a team under the AFC banner was in September 2023 against Jordan, and they comfortably won 6-0 on the day.
Iraq possible starting lineup:
Hassan; Ali, Tahseen, Sulaka, Doski; Al-Ammari, Iqbal; Bayesh, Jasim, Al-Hamadi; Hussein
Norway possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe; Odegaard, Berge, Aursnes; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
Prediction
Iraq will have to be resilient on Tuesday if they have any hope of stopping Haaland, but it is difficult to look past the Norwegian forward line.
Norway were outstanding in the final third in their qualifying campaign, so a point may be the best that Iraq can hope for, but make sure to check out the best World Cup betting sites for the latest odds.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
