Iraq and Norway end long waits for World Cup return
Iraq and Norway meet in Boston on Tuesday in a match that marks the end of decades-long waits for a return to the World Cup.
Iraq are appearing at the finals for the first time since 1986 and only the second time in their history, while Norway return to the tournament for the first time since reaching the last 16 in France 1998.
For Norway, the World Cup comeback has been a long time coming. Despite producing stars such as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, the Scandinavians have repeatedly fallen short in qualification campaigns before finally securing their place in North America.
Stale Solbakken's side were among the most impressive teams in European qualifying, winning all eight of their matches while scoring 37 goals and conceding just five.
Haaland will naturally attract most of the attention, but Norway also possess quality throughout the squad, with captain Odegaard expected to pull the strings in midfield and Alexander Sorloth providing another attacking threat.
Iraq's route to the tournament was considerably more dramatic.
The Lions of Mesopotamia changed coaches during qualification before Graham Arnold helped guide them through the latter stages of the Asian qualifiers and an intercontinental play-off victory over Bolivia to secure a place at the finals.
The Iraqis arrive as underdogs but have already shown they can compete against strong opposition, earning a draw against Spain in a pre-tournament friendly earlier this month.
With France and Senegal widely viewed as the leading contenders in Group I, both teams know a positive result could prove crucial to their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
Iraq predicted lineup:
Hassan; Ali, Tahseen, Sulaka, Doski; Al-Ammari, Iqbal; Bayesh, Jasim, Al-Hamadi; Hussein
Norway predicted lineup:
Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe; Odegaard, Berge, Aursnes; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
