⚽ Iraq vs. Norway Prediction: World Cup Picks & Best Bets (June 16)

Norway and Iraq square off in a major clash of styles tonight as they open their Group I play, and in a group where all four teams will think they can advance, plenty is on the line. My Iraq vs. Norway prediction digs through the noise to find the best plays ahead of tonight's kickoff at 6 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Norway is the biggest betting favorite of the day, with -550 odds on the moneyline.

My World Cup predictions today highlight a couple of angles you can attack from to find the best value on the slate.

⚽ Iraq vs. Norway predictions: Pick to win & player prop bets

See all of our experts' soccer picks across the best World Cup betting sites.

⚽ Who will win Iraq vs. Norway?

Despite this being one of the more competitive groups in the tournament, this game should be pretty well sewn up for Norway (how did that go for the favorites yesterday?).

Norway's squad has one of the most prolific offenses in the tournament, and Iraq's game plan will be to shut them down and hope that later in the game they can take advantage of a high press and find a gap to exploit. While Norway isn't associated with a stifling defense, they did allow just five goals over eight WCQ games (while scoring 37), and we haven't seen anything from Iraq to lead us to believe they'll suddenly start piling up goals.

Martin Odegaard will use world-class playmaking to find Haaland and Sorloth repeatedly, and when he can't get it done Nusa can provide plenty from the right-hand side. 

Score prediction: Norway 3, Iraq 0

🦶 Who will score in Iraq vs. Norway?

Follow all of our expert soccer betting analysis for the 2026 World Cup.

Erling Haaland to score 2+ goals, F, Norway (+210)

Look, my editors tell me this section is meant to be "who will score," but for this game, it's gotta be "who will score twice" because I'm not telling you to back Haaland at -250. It's not that it probably wouldn't pay off, but the return is pretty minimal. 

I mentioned before, but Haaland is one of the most physical players in the world. There's only so much that Saluka and Tahseen will be able to do to contain him, and I'm not convinced they're up to the task. He (naturally) started all eight WCQ games for the club, he logged 90 minutes in 7.8 games along that stretch, and he scored 2.05 goals per ninety. The rate would seem unsustainable for anyone else, but it's not the first time he's done something like that. 

This is his best chance to make a statement, in his first career World Cup game. I'd pay this down to +200, but remember to always bet player props at a site with a "sub on, play on" feature.

Best Iraq vs. Norway goal-scorer pick: Erling Haaland to score 2+ (+210 via FanDuel)

🥅 Will both teams score in Iraq vs. Norway?

I don't foresee both teams finding their way to the scoresheet tonight. Iraq isn't an offensive powerhouse, Norway isn't a defensive pushover. Norway will keep up an amazingly high press and beat down Iraq, who will come into the game just looking to defend and do little else. By the time this gets to 2-0 or 3-0, Norway will be able to sit back more in the defensive shapes that saw them concede just five times in World Cup qualifying. 

But there's not a lot of value here any longer than -150.

Both teams to score (BTTS) pick: No (-188 via bet365)

📊 Iraq vs. Norway odds

We're tracking the latest World Cup odds and favorites to win this year's tournament.

📺 How to watch Iraq vs. Norway

• Date: Tuesday, June 16
• Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET
• Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
• TV: FOX / Telemundo
• Streaming: Peacock