World Cup
2026-06-16 - Iraq vs Norway
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : World: FIFA World Cup - Group I
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Tuesday 16th June 2026, 1700hrs (local)
After a lengthy and gruelling World Cup qualifying campaign in the Asia section for Iraq, it all boiled down to an inter-continental play-off with CONMEBOL counterparts, Bolivia, for the right to take a place in this edition of the World Cup finals.
Luckily for Iraq, Graham Arnold’s side registered a priceless 2-1 win against Bolivia to send the Lions of Mesopotamia to only their second appearance at a World Cup but they have a very tough opening game in Group I against an Erling Haaland-fuelled Norway outfit on Tuesday evening (local time).
Iraq have played three warm-up games in preparation for this World Cup but they have managed to capture just a single win which came in the shape of a narrow 1-0 victory over European minnows, Andorra, followed by a creditable 1-1 draw with Spain and a 2-0 loss to Venezuela.
Having won just twice and suffered three defeats within their last six internationals, the Iraqis will be bracing themselves for this upcoming encounter.
Similar to Scotland, Norway ended a 28-year hiatus on the World Cup stage in impressive fashion as the Landslaget achieved a perfect record of eight wins from eight games during qualification along with scoring a total of 37 goals in the process.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland plundered 16 goals by himself and he must surely be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against an Iraqi defence that has very limited exposure to his goalscoring quality.
Despite a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands, Norway have since steadied the ship in subsequent World Cup warm-up games by drawing with Switzerland and Morocco along with recording a 3-1 victory over Sweden.
The Betting Verdict
Iraq and Norway have never met before in any competition but the Norwegians possess greater depth in quality, particularly in the final third, than their upcoming opponents.
The Pick :
Iraq 1-2 Norway
