Iraq vs. Norway: World Cup 2026 line-ups, stats & preview, TV channel, live stream & betting

Iraq and Norway kick off their World Cup 2026 campaigns on Tuesday when they meet at Boston Stadium in Group I.

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France are expected to be favourites to top the group, making this match potentially decisive in the battle for second place. – France plays Senegal later today.

Iraq are in their second ever World Cup finals and their first since 1986. The Lions of Mesopotamia have had a tough qualifying road, changing coaches midway through the process before Graham Arnold led them through the later rounds and eventually into the intercontinental play-offs, where victory over Bolivia secured their place in North America.

The Asian team has shown glimpses of promising play in recent months, including a creditable 1-1 draw against Spain in a pre-tournament pre-tournament tournament.

Norway, on the other hand, is back on the World Cup stage for the first time since 1998 after an outstanding qualifying campaign. Ståle Solbakken’s team won all eight of their qualifying matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding only five goals during the process.

With Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Ødegaard leading the way, Norway has one of the most exciting attacking teams in the tournament and believes they have a real chance of reaching the playoffs.

Their fresh form has been mixed, but the quality throughout the squad means that expectations are high ahead of their opening match in the group stage.

World Cup 2026: Iraq vs. Norway – team updates

Iraq captain Jalal Hassan is expected to start in goal and could take his 103rd cap.

The experienced goalkeeper should be protected by centre-backs Zaid Tahseen and Rebin Sulaka, while Amir Al-Ammari and former Manchester United midfielder Zidane Iqbal are likely to anchor the midfield.

Aymen Hussein is expected to lead the attack, backed by Ibrahim Bayesh, Ali Jasim and Stoke City striker Ali Al-Hamadi.

For Norway, Erling Braut Haaland will lead the attack as he looks to continue the goal-scoring form that helped his country qualify for the World Cup.

Captain Martin Ødegaard is set to start in midfield alongside Sander Berge and Fredrik Aursnes, while Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth are expected to provide offensive support.

Defensively, it is likely that Kristoffer Ajer will form a centre-back pair with Torbjørn Heggem, while Leo Skiri Østigård is also an option if Solbakken chooses to rotate.

Iraq vs Norway World Cup 2026 – expected line-ups

Iraq’s starting eleven: Hassan; Ali, Tahseen, Sulaka, Doski; Al-Ammari, Iqbal; Bayesh, Jasim, Al-Hamadi; Hussein

Norway’s starting eleven: Uusimaa; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe; Ødegaard, Berge, Aursnes; Sørloth, Haaland, Nusa

Where to watch Iraq vs. Norway – TV channels

Kick-off on Tuesday is at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, the match will be broadcast live on BBC One.

If you are in Norway, it is TV2 that broadcasts the match.

World Cup 2026: Iraq vs. Norway – statistics

  • Iraq’s previous World Cup participation was in 1986, where they lost to Paraguay (1-0), Belgium (2-1) and Mexico (1-0)
  • Only Canada and El Salvador have played more matches in the World Cup with a 100 percent loss rate (6/6 each)
  • From the third round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers, eight of Iraq’s 15 goals came from set-pieces (four from free kicks, three from corners and one penalty)
  • In the fifth round of the AFC qualifiers and intercontinental play-offs, Amir Al-Ammari was involved in three of Iraq’s five goals (1 goal, 2 assists). Across the entire qualifiers, only Aymen Hussein (9) had more assists than Al-Ammari’s seven (2 goals, 5 assists)
  • Graham Arnold, Iraq’s head coach, is leading a team in the World Cup for the second time, after leading Australia to the last eight for the second time in their history in 2022, where they lost 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina
  • This will be Norway’s fourth playoff and their first since 1998, when they produced their best campaign by reaching the last eight before being knocked out by Italy
  • Norway participated in 1994, which was the only previous time the tournament was held in the United States. All four teams in their group finished on the same number of points and an identical goal difference (0) – still the only case of their kind in World Cup history – but Norway finished last because they scored the fewest goals
  • Their two World Cup victories came against Mexico in 1994 (1-0) and Brazil in 1998 (2-1), making them the last European nation to beat Brazil in the group stage of the tournament
  • With 4.6 goals per game in European qualification (37 goals in 8 games), Norway achieved the best average ever for a European nation in a single World Cup qualifying campaign with more than four games
  • Erling Braut Haaland scored 16 goals in eight games in qualifying, which was twice as many as any other European player, averaging 2.04 goals per 90 minutes
  • Ståle Solbakken is participating in his first World Cup as head coach and participated in the 1998 edition as a player, where he played three games in Norway’s last World Cup participation

World Cup 2026: Iraq vs. Norway – betting

Iraq have shown signs of improvement under Graham Arnold and should be able to make the game even, especially with experienced players through the backbone of the team.

However, Norway’s attacking quality is hard to ignore. With Haaland, Ødegaard, Nusa and Sørloth all able to create and convert chances, the Europeans should have enough firepower to secure an important victory in Group I.

Betting: Iraq 1-3 Norway

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