Why this call

Norway possess a vastly superior squad headlined by Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Alexander Sørloth, and Sander Berge — world-class or high-level European players — making them heavily favored over Iraq, whose players compete mainly in the Iraqi league with limited top-level exposure. Iraq, coached by Graham Arnold, qualified for their first World Cup in decades and are among the weaker sides in the tournament, while Norway are a genuine contender built around elite talent. There is no head-to-head history to reference. Iraq have some home advantage in terms of crowd support in the neutral World Cup venue context, but it is minimal against Norway's quality gap. A tight defensive Iraq side is likely to concede but may struggle to score against Norway's organized defensive unit; a 0-2 scoreline reflects Norway's dominance while acknowledging Iraq could frustrate partially. Confidence in the exact scorelines is moderate given World Cup unpredictability and Iraq's potential to park the bus.