Iraq and Norway have named their starting teams for their Group I clash in Foxborough tonight.
Having been drawn in a pool alongside 2018 winners France and African heavyweights Senegal, a win for either side here would provide a huge boost to their hopes of qualification.
Norway have not played at a World Cup since 1998 but impressed in qualifying, winning all eight of their games, scoring 37 goals and conceding just five in the process.
Iraq are appearing at only their second World Cup finals and their first since 1986. The Lions of Mesopotamia endured a difficult qualification route, changing managers midway through the process before Graham Arnold guided them through the latter stages and eventually into the inter-confederation play-offs, where victory over Bolivia secured their place in North America.
The Asian side have shown flashes of promise in recent months, including a creditable 1-1 draw against Spain in a pre-tournament friendly.
Iraq team versus Norway
Iraq: Hassan, Ali, Tahseen, Hashim, Doski, Bayesh, Alammari, Ismael, Alhamadi, Jasim, Hussein
Substitutes: Talib, Basil, Sulaka, Younus, Maknazi, Saadoon, Putros, Amyn, Iqbal, Yakob, Sher, Ali, Qasem, Yousif, Farji
Norway team versus Iraq
Norway: Nyland, Ajer, Wolfe, Heggem, Berge, Odegaard, Aursnes, Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa, Ryerson
Substitutes: Tangvik, Selvik. Ostigard, Bjorkan, Pedersen, Langas, Falchener, Thorsby, Berg, Thirstvedt, Aasgaard, Schjelderup, Bobb, Hauge, Stand Larsen
Where to watch Iraq v Norway: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC One.
Fans can stream the action on a vast range of devices through the BBC iPlayer app or BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Iraq v Norway stats
- Iraq’s previous World Cup appearance was in 1986, losing to Paraguay (1-0), Belgium (2-1) and Mexico (1-0)
- Only Canada and El Salvador have played more games at the World Cup with a 100% losing rate (6/6 each)
- From the third round of qualifying for 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 AFC qualifying and inter-confederation play-offs, Amir Al Ammari was involved in three of Iraq’s five goals (1 goal, 2 assists). Across all of qualifying, only Aymen Hussein (9) had more goal involvements than Al Ammari’s seven (2 goals, 5 assists)
- Graham Arnold, Iraq’s head coach, will be overseeing a side at the World Cup for the second time, after guiding Australia to the round of 16 stage for the second time in their history in 2022, losing 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina
- This will be Norway’s fourth finals appearance and their first since 1998, when they produced their best campaign by reaching the round of 16 before being eliminated by Italy
- Norway featured in 1994, which was the only previous time the tournament was hosted by the US. All four teams in their group finished level on four points and identical goal difference (0) – still the only instance of its kind in World Cup history – but Norway ended up bottom because they scored the fewest goals
- Their two wins at the World Cup 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 stages of the tournament
- With 4.6 goals per game in European qualifying (37 goals in 8 matches), Norway achieved the best average ever for any European nation in a single World Cup qualifying campaign with more than four games
- Erling Haaland scored 16 goals in eight matches in qualifying, which was double the number of any other European player at an average of 2.04 goals per 90 minutes
- Stale Solbakken is at his first World Cup as head coach and featured in the 1998 edition as a player, featuring in three matches in Norway’s most recent appearance at the tournament
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