Boston Stadium is ready to take center stage as Iraq and Norway square off to round out the 2026 World Cup opening matches of Group I. With heavyweights France and Senegal looming in the same zone, capturing three points tonight is absolutely vital for both sides’ knockout stage ambitions.
Norway came out firing in the first half, completely dictating the tempo and choking out their opponents. The early dominance paid off when a brilliant individual run from Antonio Nusa unlocked the defense, finding Erling Haaland right in the heart of the box for an easy tap-in to open the scoring at 1-0.
Despite being pinned back and generating very little offense, Iraq stunned the field by grabbing an equalizer out of nowhere. A pinpoint cross found an aerial weapon in Aymen Hussein, who thudded a powerful header into the back of the net.
The celebrations were short-lived, however, as Haaland immediately punished a huge defensive mistake just minutes later, slotting home his second of the night to send Norway into the locker room with the halftime lead.
50'- A slow second half start (1-2)
It's a quiet start to the second half, though Iraq appears to be pushing with more urgency as they look to equalize once again.
The second half begins! (1-2)
Iraq and Norway are already playing the second half!
Halftime!
The game goes to halftime!
45'+3- What a miss from Ibrahim Bayesh! (1-2)
Ibrahim Bayesh came inches away from equalizing, but his strike was blocked at the very last second by a defender, deflecting the ball out for a corner kick.
42'- GOOOOOAAAAL FOR NORWAY!!! (1-2)
Erling Haaland puts Norway ahead once again!
39'- GOOOOAAAAL FOR IRAQ!! (1-1)
Aymen Hussein scores with a powerful header!!
36'- Nice try from Odegaard (0-1)
Martin Odegaard tried his luck from outside the box, but his shot went wide from the post.
33'- Norway dominating (0-1)
Norway is dictating the tempo with 63% possession, while Iraq is ramping up the aggression in frantic search of the equalizer.
28'- GOOOAAAL FOR NORWAY!! (0-1)
Erling Haaland scores the opener of the game!!
25'- Cooling break
Hydration break.
23'- Sorloth almost scores! (0-0)
Alexander Sorloth had a clear chance with a header, but Jalal Hassan saved it easily.
20'- Haaland tries with a header (0-0)
After a corner kick, Haaland rised high to connect the ball with a header, but it sailed over the crossbar.
17'- Not much happening (0-0)
Both teams are defending in a great way, turning this into a highly physical, gridlocked battle.
12'- First shot of the game (0-0)
Iraq threatened again through forward Ali Al-Hamadi, who unleashed a powerful strike that sailed over Orjan Nyland's crossbar.
7'- Norway answers with Haaland (0-0)
Following a brilliant run by Haaland, the striker cut into the box and fired a pass toward the center, but Jalal Hassan caught it to smother the danger.
5'- First chance of the game (0-0)
Aymen Hussein had the first real chance of the match, sending a harmless header well over the Norway crossbar.
GAME ON!
The game between iraq and Norway is underway at Boston Stadium!
Players are on the pitch!
Players from both teams are on the field. Everything is ready for the start of the match!
Today's referees
Pierre Ghislain Atcho has been appointed to officiate the clash between Iraq and Norway. He will be joined on the field by Boris Ditsoga and Amos Abeigne Ndong, who are set to serve as the assistant referees.
Full officiating team:
- Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho
- Assistant Referee 1: Boris Ditsoga
- Assistant Referee 2: Amos Abeigne Ndong
- Fourth official: Patrick Mbaïa
- VAR: Guillermo Pacheco
Both teams doing warm up activities
Players for both sides have taken the field for warmups at Boston Stadium!
Norway's lineup confirmed!
Norway’s starting XI: Orjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjorn Heggem, David Moller Wolfe; Fredrik Aursnes, Martin Odegaard, Sander Berge, Antonio Nusa; Alexander Sorloth, Erling Haaland.
Iraq lineup confirmed!
Iraq’s starting XI: Jalal Hassan; Akam Hashem, Zaid Tahseen, Merchas Doski, Hussein Ali; Ali Jassim, Amir Al-Ammari, Ibrahim Bayesh, Zaid Ismail; Aymen Hussein, Ali Al-Hamadi.
Kickoff time and where to watch
Iraq vs Norway will get underway at Boston Stadium at 6:00 PM (ET).
Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, Peacock Premium, FOX, Telemundo and Hulu + Live TV are the options to watch Iraq vs Norway in the USA.
Iraq and Norway clash in a 2026 World Cup Group I game
Welcome to World Soccer Talk's live blog! Iraq and Norway clash at Boston Stadium for 2026 World Cup Matchday 1 of Group I.
Stay with us for all the action and minute-by-minute updates of this exciting game!
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