In Monterrey, one of the final spots in the World Cup will be booked as Iraq and Bolivia meet to close out their path in the World Cup playoff tournament. A win would put them in a tough group alongside France, Norway, and Senegal, but with the eight best third-place teams having the chance to advance from the group stage, there’s no reason for anyone who qualifies to not believe that they have a chance at making it to the newly minted round of 32 at the first-ever 48-team World Cup.
How to watch Iraq vs. Bolivia, odds
- Date: Tuesday, March 31 | Time: 11 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio BBVA — Monterrey, Mexico
- TV: FS1 | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: Iraq +170; Draw +210; Bolivia +170
With airspace in their country closed due to the ongoing war in Iran, Iraq’s team, which hails primarily from their domestic league, had to take an arduous route, coming through Jordan before ultimately getting to Mexico. Now that they’ve made it, things don’t get any easier as they look to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years while facing a much-improved CONMEBOL side. Everything that they went through has to go out the window, as Bolivia already showed that they can come back in matches after getting past Suriname in the previous round.
Suriname scored as soon as the second half got underway, but Bolivia came back with two goals in two minutes to make it to a point where they’re 90 minutes from making the World Cup for the first time since 1994, a tournament which was also held in the United States. Long known as the doormats of South America, Bolivia have been able to make things happen, and they’ve done it without a familiar face as well.
Their top scorer in history, Marcelo Martins Moreno, came out of retirement to sign with his boyhood club, Oriente Petrolero, but manager Oscar Villegas decided to stick with the squad that got them here. Already beating South American sides such as Venezuela and Chile, Bolivia may not have the altitude advantage of La Paz behind them in Mexico, but they could become shock participants in the World Cup.
It’s all on the line as these two teams meet, as neither will want to miss out on the World Cup after coming so close to qualifying, and that will make this a cagey match that comes down to the wire. Considering how even these sides are, one goal could make the difference.
