Iceland vs Azerbaijan prediction 05.09.2025 | World Cup 2026 qualifiers

Iceland kick-off their World Cup qualification campaign in the midst of a poor run of form which has seen them lose four of their last five matches. A 3:1 win in Scotland in a friendly fixture was the only high-spot in a tough sequence for the Icelandics. 

Before their recent poor run, Iceland did claim a 2:0 road win in Montenegro, but the hosts have largely struggled to find much consistency in the past 12 months. 

Iceland will be looking for an improved campaign after a fifth-placed finish in their last bid to qualify for the World Cup in 2022.

A high-scoring outcome could offer plenty of value this weekend. The hosts have seen over 2.5 goals scored in seven of their last nine matches. All of those matches also finished with both teams on the scoresheet.

Arnar Gunnlaugsson selected a 24-man squad for Iceland's upcoming matches against Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Fiorentina forward Albert Guðmundsson is expected to win his 42nd cap this weekend.

Azerbaijan come into Friday's qualifier looking to improve on a poor run of form that has seen them lose eight of their last ten matches. The Milli komanda slipped to a 2:1 home defeat against Hungary in their most recent fixture in June. 

A disastrous run of form has seen the visitors fail to win any of their last ten internationals, why they claimed just one victory in 13 games played since March 2024.

Like the home side, high-scoring outcomes have been relatively frequent for the visitors. Azerbaijan have seen the same outcome in eight of their last 12 international fixtures.

Fernando Santos has a 24-man squad available for the trip to Iceland. Experienced midfielder Emin Mahmudov is poised to win his 54th cap on Friday.