Erling Haaland makes his World Cup debut in Foxborough.
By Hayden Bird
1 minute to read
After an inspired start to Boston’s World Cup experience on Saturday with Scotland’s 1-0 win over Haiti, fans return for the second local game of the 2026 tournament.
Iraq, in its first World Cup since 1986, will face Norway, playing in its first men’s edition of the event since 1998. Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland is set to lead the line for the Scandinavians. He will face an Iraqi team that played a record number of qualifying games to reach the world’s stage.
Stay tuned for live updates throughout the pregame and the match itself:
5:34: Before kickoff, we can check in on some nation-specific journalists, and what they’re saying. First, let’s hear from Norwegian journalist Lars Sivertsen as he notes that it’s been 10,277 days since his country last played on the World Cup stage:
From Iraq, we have journalist and author Hassanin Mubarak. According to Mubarak (who chronicled the historically long and difficult road his country walked to qualify for this World Cup), head coach Graham Arnold has made some surprising selections for his lineup:
Arnold makes one big surprise selection, starting Zaid Ismail in midfield instead of Aimar Sher. This is only his fifth international start for Iraq and it's at the World Cup finals. Ali Jassim gets the nod ahead of Marko Farji. 🇮🇶🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/5K35J2iUjs
— Hassanin Mubarak (@hassaninmubarak) June 16, 2026
5:15: A big cheer goes up as the Norwegian and Iraqi goalkeeper contingents are the first players to make their way onto the grass field for warmups.
4:56: Lineups are out. It looks like Iraq will play a 4-4-2:
Norway will line up in a 4-3-3 with the following starters: Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Moller Wolfe; Berge, Aursnes, Odegaard; Sorloth, Nusa; Haaland.
4:33: The crowd roars its approval when Haaland is shown walking into the stadium from the Norwegian bus. The buzz is building.
4:24: A Norwegian fan wearing a classic national team jersey was spotted wearing a kilt, nicely blending Boston’s local fanbases.
4:15: It’s beautiful day for World Cup soccer in sunny Foxborough, Mass. The temperature is a manageable 76 degrees (Fahrenheit), and a packed crowd of Iraqis and Norwegians.
4:00: Iraqi fans are excited to be back at a World Cup for the first time in 40 years.
Hayden Bird
Assistant Sports Editor
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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