Having booked their ticket to the 2026 showpiece after a gruelling qualifying campaign, Graham Arnold's side will be eager to get their campaign running in a group that also has France and Senegal.

On paper, the challenge looks extremely tough but former Australia head coach Arnold has repeatedly said his side have nothing to lose against opponents who are all ranked higher than Iraq.

"We've got to believe in ourselves and we've got to go out there and be brave to play," said Arnold, who led his native Australia to the last 16 in 2022.

"Qualification is not enough. I want more," he added. "We've only got everything to win and not to lose. We've got to perform to our best and try to shock the world."

The tactician saw his players overcome extremely tough odds to defeat Bolivia 2-1 in the Inter-Confederation Playoff and will expect the same fortitude from them, starting with Norway who will be powered by Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Arsenal's Martin Odegaard.

Norway, making a return to the Final after 26 years, were impressive in qualifying - winning all eight of their matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding just five.

● Iraq are featuring in their second FIFA World Cup finals after 1986, losing all three group games against Paraguay (0-1), Belgium (1-2) and Mexico (0-1).

● From the third round of AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26, eight of Iraq’s 15 goals came from set-pieces (4 free-kicks, 3 corners, 1 penalty).

● In the playoff ties against United Arab Emirates and Bolivia, Amir Al Ammari was involved in three of Iraq’s five goals (1 goal, 2 assists), while across all of qualifying, only Aymen Hussein (9) had more goal involvements than his seven (2 goals, 5 assists).

● Graham Arnold, Iraq’s head coach, will be overseeing a side at the FIFA World Cup for the second time, after guiding Australia to the Round of 16 in 2022, losing 2-1 to eventual winners Argentina.

Iraq v Norway
Venue: Boston Stadium (Massachusetts)
Kick-off: Tuesday, 18:00 (UTC-4)