One game, one ticket, one last chance.
At Estadio BBVA, Iraq and Bolivia step into the World Cup 2026 qualification play-off knowing the margins are brutal: win and you’re in, lose and the wait goes on.
This is the final act of the inter-confederation play-offs, a meeting of two nations who have been watching World Cups from afar for decades. For one of them, that changes in Mexico.
Where and How to Watch
For viewers in the UK, there’s no traditional television broadcast. The match is being shown via FIFA+, the only way to watch it live.
In the United States, Iraq vs Bolivia is on Fox Sports 1. The channel is available through the Fox One streaming service, which offers a seven-day free trial and monthly packages at $19.99. The game can also be accessed via cord-cutting platforms such as Sling, YouTube TV and Fubo.
Fans outside their home country face geo-restrictions on usual services, but many turn to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to make their devices appear as if they’re back home, restoring access to familiar platforms.
Bolivia’s Long Road Back
For Bolivia, the equation is stark. Beat Iraq in Mexico and they return to the World Cup for the first time since 1994, when the United States hosted the tournament.
That campaign, remembered for its colour and chaos, also gave Bolivia their only World Cup group stage point, a draw against South Korea in Foxborough. Win here, and they’ll be back in Massachusetts, returning to Foxborough 32 years on.
The Path 2 winners are already pencilled into Group I. The opener comes at Gillette Stadium against Norway, with France in Philadelphia and Senegal in Toronto to follow before June is out. On paper, as the seventh-placed side in CONMEBOL qualifying, Bolivia will be clear underdogs. That’s for later.
Right now, they are one match away because they held their nerve. In the semi-final, they needed a Miguel Terceros penalty to edge past Suriname 2-1 on Thursday. It was tight, tense, and exactly the sort of game that can break a side’s composure. Bolivia didn’t flinch.
That performance underlined something important: they’re not intimidated by the pressure of simply getting to the main event. They know the climb only gets steeper from here, but first they have to finish this last ascent.
Iraq’s Date With History
For Iraq, the story loops back to Mexico as well.
Their only World Cup finals appearance came in 1986. They lost all three group matches in Toluca and Mexico City, and the country’s trajectory was soon reshaped by war. Since then, the World Cup has been a distant horizon rather than a regular destination.
Now, Guadalupe is everything.
Iraq stormed through their first AFC qualifying group, winning six from six. That early dominance suggested a smooth path, but the later stages were far more unforgiving. They missed out on automatic qualification not once, but twice, forced into the long way round.
In November, they reached the brink again. One more chance to stay alive. They took it, beating the United Arab Emirates over two legs to earn this inter-confederation play-off final. For 18 months, Iraq have been living on the edge, clinging to their World Cup dream by sheer force of will.
The run-in has not been perfect. They closed 2025 with back-to-back defeats, failing to score against Algeria and Jordan in the Arab Cup. After a long unbeaten spell, those losses cut across the narrative of steady momentum.
Yet there’s a sense this Iraq side almost feeds off that kind of adversity. When the stakes rise and the margins narrow, they tend to find a way to hang on.
Tension, Stakes, and a Razor-Thin Call
The backdrop is rich. Two nations, two different confederations, one shared craving for relevance on the biggest stage.
Bolivia arrive as the side hardened by CONMEBOL qualifying, used to facing giants and often suffering for it. Iraq come as the team that has refused to go away, surviving every setback, every detour.
The prize is enormous: a place in Group I, a date with Norway in Foxborough, then the glamour and grind of France in Philadelphia and Senegal in Toronto. The winner doesn’t just qualify; they step into a month that can redefine a generation of players.
Prediction? Iraq 1–0 Bolivia.
It feels like the kind of match decided by a single moment – a defensive lapse, a set piece, a flash of nerve when everyone else tightens up. Iraq have been clinging to this dream for a year and a half. Now they have to prove they can finish the job.
