Iraq 1-4 Norway: World Cup 2026 – live

It was a brilliant performance by Iraq in their first World Cup finals appearance in 40 years,. the score is in no way representative of the play. Iraq were the better side for the last 15 minutes of the first half. for much of the second half. But a massive blunder gave Norway a 2-1 halftime lead,. Norway took advantage of their height advantage to tack on two more goals without ever really taking control of the game.

The commentary crew is hyping Norway as a tournament dark horse now. I predict they’ll lose to France. Senegal, but that late goal may see them get through to the round of … sigh … 32.

Here’s Ewan Murray’s match report from Boston Stadium:

So if you’re wondering how the results so far could affect the knockout-round pairings. why not check out our Bracketology feature?

That’ll keep you occupied for the next 49 minutes, which is the wait you’ll have before Messi. Argentina face off against Algeria. Thanks for following along with me for this surprisingly compelling game between teams. haven’t been on this stage for a while.

For Argentina-Algeria, please join Jonathan Howcroft. I’m off to get some popcorn.

Phillip Wainwright on Ødegaard: “Tremendous player last season. Now giving away the ball he used to largely own in the Arsenal midfield. Facing the wrong way when the Iraqi player ran off him to cross for the goal. Scuffing shots miles wide. Such a shame to see. What’s happened to him, then?”

A substitution – that’s what happened in this one. Would Norway consider benching the captain against France?

Trygve Lie from Norway: “The general atmosphere here is that we have a team capable of challenging for a final. As feared, the national pastime of overdone enthusiasm. patriotism has gotten the better of us; offensively, we are world class. Defensively, there are several big issues, as this match has demonstrated in abundance. France will enjoy themselves against our back line.”

Agreed. But to be fair, for neutrals, France-Norway should be a treat.

Put another way – Iraq’s midfield and attack asked serious questions of Norway’s defense. And with all due respect to Iraq, if players from Ipswich Town. Al-Karma are pulling you apart, how do you expect to stop Mbappe or Mané?

And a 4-1 win in the opener can lead to overconfidence. Looking your way, USA.

It was a brilliant performance by Iraq in their first World Cup finals appearance in 40 years,. the score is in no way representative of the play. Iraq were the better side for the last 15 minutes of the first half. for much of the second half. But a massive blunder gave Norway a 2-1 halftime lead,. Norway took advantage of their height advantage to tack on two more goals without ever really taking control of the game.

The commentary crew is hyping Norway as a tournament dark horse now. I predict they’ll lose to France. Senegal, but that late goal may see them get through to the round of … sigh … 32.

The ball is played over the area, then back to the near post, where Haaland gets a head to it. It lands on a gaggle of players that includes Thorstvedt,. the stadium video board credits him with the goal, but more level heads are awarding it as an own goal.

A suspicion of handball there.

90 min +6 Free kick Norway,. they start the sequence with some short passes and then work it back into the area.

90 min +4 Free kick to Iraq near midfield. surprising in a sense because Norway hadn’t been showing enough effort to foul anyone.

Iraq try to spring an attack and loft it into the penalty area. On a subsequent header, Saadoon is late to the action and clashes heads with Schjelderup. The Norwegian gets the worst of it but can continue.

90 min +3 Goal difference matters, yes,. aside from the brief foray forward, Norway seem unconcerned about trying to add anything now.

In fact, Iraq now have possession, but they seem out of ideas.

90 min +1 Chance for Norway! A long ball springs Schjelderup on the left. He takes on a defender. halfway sneaks through, with the ball bounding over to Thorstvedt, whose shot hits the side netting.

Six minutes of stoppage indicated, but it may be more with Hussein in discomfort after being sandwiched between leaping Norwegians.

90 min As you were. Norway in possession. Iraq not really pressing so much as waiting for Norway to misplay the ball.

88 min Norway are very comfortable in possession now. They get dispossessed as they move forward, but Iraq’s attempt to counter goes astray after just a couple of touches.

87 min Aside from the occasional outburst from Ryerson. a brief spell of irritation late in the first half, this match has been impeccable in terms of sportsmanship. Fair play points could be a tiebreaker, so that could help someone down the road.

86 min Is this the first yellow card of the game? Tahseen grabs Haaland to stop a Norwegian attack, and it’s not a controversial call.

85 min At this point, we may have more suspense over a Haaland hat trick than the result.

84 min Iraq resort to a desperate blast up the field. Nyland takes it to his feet with no pressure.

83 min Another giveaway to Haaland! But this time, Hassan is there to make the brave close-range stop.

82 min Some games need a goal to liven things up. That goal probably drained what was left of Iraq’s energy. They had looked slightly more likely to equalize in this half than to concede, but …

81 min Berg replaces the captain Ødegaard. That’ll be the last change for Norway. Haaland has taken the armband.

79 min Haaland is whistled for a foul at midfield.

For those just joining us – the score is certainly no indication of the balance of play here. Iraq have acquitted themselves quite well. They let Norway reclaim the lead with a defensive blunder,. they were always bound to lose a few aerial challenges as they did on that headed goal.

78 min Before that goal, ESPN had tracked the xG for this game at 1.90 to 0.77. I think 1.1 of Norway’s stat was on the tap-in for Haaland.

Simple stuff – the sub with fresh legs outleaps everyone. has a clean header that he deposits into the net.

Iraq have some complaints about the amount of contact in the penalty area.

75 min We had a pulsating first half, but that has not been the case here. Iraq have had a couple of bright moments Norway have not.

And now they do – Thorstvedt. just arrived into the game, has a shot on the corner of the 6-yard box, blocked for a corner.

Lots of subs – Norway bring in Bobb, Schjelderup, Østigård and Thorstvedt for Møller Wolfe,Aursnes, Nusa and Sørloth.

For Iraq: We have an MLS appearance! Qasem (Nashville) replaces Jasim. Also, Saadoon replaces Hussein Ali.

68 min It seems those Norwegian subs have not yet entered.

Jasim is down, and the referee stops play, perhaps unsure whether this is a head injury. Close – it’s a neck injury.

That’ll bring us to hydration time.

66 min We have a cramp. More specifically, Møller Wolfe has a cramp. Seems most unhappy.

Worth noting – it is not a hot day in the northeastern United States today. Very pleasant.

64 min A pretty combination for Iraq – their attackers are making intelligent runs.

Subs for Norway: Tall blonde guy for tall blonde guy, and tall blonde guy for tall blonde guy. Will confirm names in a moment.

63 min: It’s a speculative ball over. across the Norwegian penalty area, but right back Hussein Ali has forged ahead, and his volley from an acute angle doesn’t miss by much.

62 min Tentative movement for both teams now, though Norway are pressing deep.

61 min He may have tired,. Al-Hamadi was for me one of Iraq’s most impressive players in the first half. Pity to see him depart.

59 min Subs for Iraq – Ismael and Al-Hamadi are off. Iqbal (Utrecht) and Farji (Venezia) are on.

57 min Corner kick to Norway,. the referee has a word for Vassbakk Ajer, who laughs about the conversation with a considerably shorter Iraqi counterpart.

54 min Norway get a free kick, though. On the other side of the field. we have a legitimately blown call by the AR – the ball went off Sørloth’s thigh, five yards in front of the official with nothing blocking his view. Possession calls are usually inconsequential, but that’s a horrible miss.

53 min No free kick? Really? Iraq continue to play with a man down on the ground, and Hussein gets a head to Bayesh’s cross. It doesn’t miss by much.

Very quick response to someone in the inbox asking why there’s a match at midnight Eastern time tonight. Better European air times? No – that’s a very early morning on most of the continent. That’s a byproduct of having a 48-team tournament –. to be fair, the USA has a West Coast that usually has little to watch after 9 p.m. Pacific.

50 min Passing stats notwithstanding, Norway can’t seem to hold the ball against the Iraqi press. That could Bodø/Glimt, I mean, bode ill.

48 min Ryerson plays the ball out over the line. He continues playing it, as no official has made a signal. In fairness, I believe the AR was screened. Hate when that happens. But common sense. the laws of physics, along with the Laws of the Game, prevail, and it’s a goal kick.

47 min Iraq have ramped up the pressure. They had the momentum in the last 10-15 minutes of the first half (including stoppage time),. they’ll want to be sure the halftime break doesn’t interrupt it.

As stadium rock anthems go, the Wolfmother song Joker and the Thief is top-shelf.

Last word from the mailbag, for now, goes to Martin Bolme:

double quotation mark What it feels like now:

It’s been so long now that every single Norwegian you meet will say the same thing.

We name every player and their club in one of the top five leagues.

We talk with passion about Bodø/Glimt and the power of a collective.

We talk down the idiotic viking font on names and numbers.

We make you watch Ghostbusters 2 and Wilhelm von Hamburg.

I’d say the quest to make people watch Ghostbusters 2 was less effective than Norway’s attack.

Halftime mailbag II:

Kári Tulinius: “My preconception was that these two teams had competent, if not water-tight, defenses. I’m ostensibly a neutral, though I like both teams,. I’m stress-sweating every time either side tries to do the most basic of defensive tasks. Makes for an exciting match, though.”

That’s part of the dilemma in a lot of competitions now, isn’t it? World championship-level chess tends to be dull because everyone defends so well. MMA is less entertaining than it was back in the days in. a jiu-jitsu specialist could easily get a submission from someone who hadn’t learned to counter the arsenal of Gracie-tested maneuvers.

Similar thought from Casiano Martinez: “Two very flawed teams making for a fun game. How did no one pick up the crosser for Iraq’s goal,. then once he crossed, two of the three Norwegians didn’t even jump?”

Allan Castle: “I was going to switch off, but you know what they say, it’s a half of two quarters.”

Hey, that’s 50 cents. That’ll buy you … well, nothing.

Andrew Hawkins: “Hi Beau. just landed at LAX en route to Seattle for the Socceroos’ big match against the US on Friday. Left home in Sydney just after the full-time whistle yesterday in the Iran v New Zealand match - a long trip. The live blogs are brilliant to be able to see what I’ve missed while in the air. the team is doing a great job. In my (mercifully) short time at LAX arrivals, counted 13 different countries. their World Cup jerseys - among them a very vocal Uzbek group flying on to Mexico City for their match against Colombia. While there are plenty of well-documented problems with this World Cup. there are few events like it to connect people from all corners of the globe. Long may it continue!”

The international interactions are indeed winning over cynics like me. Granted, I’m not usually cynical.

Pete Leihy: “Which is more imperiously intimidating of FIFA - calling the Azteca ‘Mexico City Stadium’ or calling Erling Haaland ‘Erling Braut Haaland’?”

We’re watching a game in Foxborough in a stadium called “Boston Stadium.” That’s like placing “London Stadium” in Reading. Or Swindon. Or Dublin.

Tony Hughes: “It’s still odd - for me at least - to see Alexander Sørloth partnering Erling Haaland. He’s had such a peripatetic career, I don’t think of him in the same league as Haaland, let alone bracket.”

But is anyone in the same league as Haaland these days?

Roger Kirkby: “Foxborough must be a long way from Boston, the train fare is $100.”

How much to get from Cornwall to Glasgow? For the record, I can get from Washington to New York for less than that, though not on the Acela.

Christian Svanes Kolding: “Though he’s not THAT old, Solbakken is old-school. When he coached at Copenhagen. which is where I’m from (though I’m writing from Los Angeles), he knew how to stifle the game, making it as joyless for supporters as it was for his opponents. He’s a dour blunt tool kind of manager so how he orchestrates a side with so much attacking talent is a mystery to me.”

Maybe he focuses on tightening the defense (which, we’ve seen here, is a work in progress). just lets the attacking talent attack?

As expected, Norway have the lead, but it’s only because a couple of Iraqi shots missed by inches. a goalkeeper with more than 100 caps switched off momentarily with the world’s best striker bearing down on him.

If you thought this one would be dull, you should doubt your judgment about all things. Maybe pull a George Costanza and start doing the opposite of your instincts.

45 min +5 ANOTHER CHANCE! It’s a through ball that cleanly beats the Norwegian back line, and Al-Hamadi goes 1v1 vs. the keeper. He waits a tick too long, though, and his shot is deflected for a corner.

The corner bounds out,. Hashim hits a scorcher from 25 yards that rips into the back supports of the goal. The shot was so convincing that the score bug on the broadcast momentarily switched from 1 to 2 for Iraq.

45 min +3 CHANCE FOR IRAQ! Hussein flicks on for Al-Hamadi, it’s played back, there’s a shot that HITS THE FAR POST. caroms out for another shot. There’s a shout for a handball at close range, but replays shows it hit a knee, not an arm.

Corner kick to Iraq, and it’s not a bad effort.

We’ll have five minutes of stoppage time.

It’s a lazy backpass to the keeper, Hassan hesitates. then watches in horror as the onrushing Haaland taps the ball past him into the net.

Worst defensive calamity in the matches I’ve seen, which is about two-thirds of them.

43 min Things were all smiles earlier,. as Ryerson tries to shield the ball out of play, Doski bundles into him … hold that thought …

That was a thing of beauty. Jasim squares up one-on-one against Ryerson, then spots Al-Ammari dashing toward the end line. He lofts it in the air, and Hussein rises to head it past Nyland.

One scoring champion answers another.

The referee forum I frequent was amused by the referee’s insistence on placing the ball a few millimeters away from where it was on a free kick earlier in the game.

They also would like to pass along. their view of the no-call in the France-Senegal match turned out not to be unanimous.

(I’m still saying no-call, which I say with a modicum of fear.)

37 min Norway win possession with their press, but Ødegaard drags a shot wide.

36 min Phew! We have a few moments of short passes oh never mind Norway just went long again. But it’s out of play.

34 min Foul is given on the corner kick – looks like someone has a grasp on the goalkeeper’s jersey. For the moment, that’s still not allowed on corner kicks. Everything else seems to be just fine these days.

33 min While awaiting a corner kick, Haaland puts an arm around an Iraqi player – pity I can’t see who it is –. they have a good conversation while laughing about something. Maybe the rowing thing amused them.

31 min A bright response from Iraq, with a couple of angles opening neatly in the retreating Norwegian defense,. the chance is squandered.

And then immediately. the ball goes back up to Haaland, who dinks it aside to a teammate whose shot is blocked.