Iraq enters the 2026 World Cup with a noteworthy story. Just over 1 year ago, the West Asian team also faced the risk of being eliminated when they parted ways with coach Jesus Casas after losing to Palestine in the qualifiers.
The appearance of Graham Arnold created a turning point when the Australian strategist helped Iraq pass the qualifiers, then continued to defeat Bolivia 2-1 in the play-off to return to the World Cup.
In the process of preparing for Iraq to play friendly matches, they successively won against Andorra 1-0, drew with Spain 1-1 and lost to Venezuela 0-2. Since the end of 2022, they have also only won 2 out of 8 matches against opponents outside of Asia.
On the other side, Norway brings a contrasting image. Coach Stale Solbakken's team won all 24 points in the qualifiers, scored 37 goals and conceded only 5 despite being in the same group as Italy. Owning Erling Haaland and many players playing in top European leagues, the North European team is rated slightly higher.
This is the first time Iraq and Norway have faced each other in history. Norway is 26 places above their opponent in the FIFA rankings and aims for victory to mark their first World Cup return since 1998.
Meanwhile, Iraq expects to continue to write a memorable journey after 40 years of waiting for the day to reappear on the world's biggest football stage.
The match between Iraq and Norway at the 2026 World Cup takes place at 5:00 AM on June 17, live on VTV3, VTV6, VTV9, VTVgo.
Live stream link:
//vtvgo. vn/channel/vtv3-1,3. html
//vtvgo. vn/channel/vtv6-1,13. html
//vtvgo. vn/channel/vtv9-1,39. html
