The Iraq National Football Team plays a crucial match against Norway in the FIFA World Cup 2026, after a 40-year absence from the tournament. This is the second match for Iraq in Group 9, which also includes France and Senegal. The Norwegian team has a strong attacking power led by Erling Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard. Coach Stale Solbakken's team had a notable performance in the qualifiers, scoring 37 goals in just eight matches. In contrast, the Iraq National Football Team enters the Group 9 competition as the least favored, after becoming the last team to qualify for the tournament following their win over Bolivia in the World Cup qualifying playoffs. Although most of Iraq's players are active outside the major European leagues, Ali Al-Hamadi, the Ipswich Town striker, and Ayman Hussein, one of the brightest stars of Iraqi football, could pose a real threat in front of the goal. For the Norwegian team, Erling Haaland cannot be ignored, having scored 55 goals in 50 international matches for his country. The 25-year-old is preparing to play his first World Cup match against Iraq, and it's hard to rule out the possibility of him scoring. As for the Iraq National Football Team, they hope that 22-year-old midfielder Marco Frigi, who plays for Italian club Venezia, will have a notable performance in the tournament. This will be Norway's fourth participation in the World Cup, and their first since the 1998 edition. Iraq returns to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years, after their only previous participation in the 1986 edition, which they left from the group stage. This will be the first encounter in history between the two teams at the international level. This match is an opportunity for Iraq to achieve a positive result against a strong team like Norway, which has notable players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard. The match is expected to be tight and exciting, with chances for Iraq to achieve a good result.