Iraq and Norway have never crossed paths in a major international tournament, nor have the two battled in a friendly. It really is unchartered territory when the duo collide at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday evening.
There won’t be many backing Iraq to cause an upset, although Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have proven already at this World Cup that the underdog should not be discounted. Australia also fall into that category and look how its match with Türkiye played out.
Iraq defeated Bolivia 2–1 to seal its place in the tournament, via the inter-confederation playoffs, but regular victories are hard to come by when it really matters—Andorra the only other country it has beaten this year. Norway battered its way through European qualifying, even putting Italy to the sword, and it has all the firepower to make it a miserable night for Iraq.
All eyes will be on Erling Haaland, who scored 28 goals for his country in 2024 and 2025 but is blank in his two international outings this year,
