Iraq vs Norway — Haaland’s World Cup debut, will the Nordic pirates thoroughly rout the minnows?

Iraq returns to the World Cup after 40 years, and Norway has also ended a 28-year wait. But the gap in quality between the two teams is there for everyone to see—Norway is ranked 31st in the world, Iraq is ranked 57th, and Norway’s entire squad’s total value is more than ten times Iraq’s. These kinds of mismatched matchups often turn into big-score results.

In the qualifiers, Norway won all 8 matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding only 5—an attack with terrifying firepower. In 55 matches for the national team, Haaland has netted 55 goals, and with Ødegaard’s midfield organization and control, the offensive system is very multi-dimensional. For Iraq, the most worth praising record is their 1-1 draw with Spain in a friendly, but that Spain side clearly wasn’t taking it seriously. In their final friendly, they lost 0-2 to Venezuela, proving that their back line will fall apart when facing intense pressure.

I saw on Polymarket that Norway’s probability of winning is about 85%, and the handicap odds for Norway -2 are also set quite deep—the market is voting with real money. This match isn’t about “whether Norway can win,” but “by how many.” Total goals are set in the 2.75 mid-to-high range, suggesting the odds makers also expect plenty of goals. I’ll bet on the Norway -2 line, take a small stake on Norway leading at halftime, and the odds for Haaland to score also look good—worth a try.

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