Venezuela and Fifa World Cup qualifier Iraq will go head to head in a friendly exhibition match at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The teams are set to take the field for kickoff at 8 p.m. tomorrow, June 9 for a riveting match.
SeatGeek stadium is located at 7000 South Harlem Avenue, Bridgeview IL, 60455. Directions and parking information for the match can be found on the SeatGeek stadiums website.
Iraq has not qualified for the World Cup in 40 years, last appearing at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico where they were eliminated in the group stages.
This exhibition game occurs three days before the first tournament game of the Fifa 2026 World Cup on June 11. Iraq will play its first tournament game against Norway on June 16 in Massachusetts.
Games for the Fifa World Cup will be played across the North America continent, including Canada, United States and Mexico. The final match will occur on July 19, at MetLife Stadium, which is being referred to as New York New Jersey Stadium by Fifa during the tournament, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Many major cities in the U.S. are hosting match games for the Fifa World Cup, however, Chicago is not hosting any despite it being the 3rd largest city in the U.S. This is due to former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel voluntarily withdrawing the city’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018.
This upcoming friendly match in Bridgeview and the Send-Off Match hosted at Soldier Field this past weekend, are the only international soccer matches in the Chicago land area this summer. Chicago land residents will need to travel this summer to catch a World Cup Match. The closest city hosting matches is Kansas City, Missouri.
To catch some of the soccer madness this summer and not travel far, the international match at SeatGeek Stadium is the perfect opportunity. Tickets are still available on the SeatGeek website.