{"id":2882,"date":"2026-06-16T20:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2882"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:35:31","slug":"no-matter-the-score-one-world-cup-fan-is-already-a-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2882","title":{"rendered":"No matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most soccer fanatics pick one favorite in a World Cup game and go all in. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is not the case for Mohammed Missouri, executive director of the Office of Neighborhood Services for the city of Boston. Being Iraqi-Norwegian turned Bostonian means today he is living the best of all worlds. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Move over Scots. The Iraqi World Cup fans have arrived.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good day for me no matter what,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Missouri, 42, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and moved to Norway as a result of the Gulf War when he turned 8 years old, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNorway was the first country to accept Iraqi refugees at the time,\u201d Missouri said, recounting the connection between both countries that are playing against each other today at Boston Stadium in Foxborough. <\/span><\/p>\n

After his time in Norway, Missouri came to the United States to study at Suffolk University and has lived in Boston since, coming up on almost two decades as a Bostonian. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely am a mix of all three backgrounds \u2014 I feel a little bit of each,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the announcement that the game would be held at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, it became a family inside joke. He and his wife immediately decided to get tickets and use their vacation money this year for it, he said. \u201cI was just genuinely elated,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision to bring his 4-month-old son along was made after much thought. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought he has to experience this. He is not going to remember anything, but we know he\u2019s going to see the pictures one day,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Boston\u2019s next World Cup game kicks off Tuesday night. Follow live updates ahead of your afternoon commute.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mixed feelings are held in his family today, he said. His mom is rooting for Norway, while his dad switches sides multiple times in a day. <\/span><\/p>\n

His expectation and hope going into the game is that Norway will win, he said. Going into the tournament without a jersey, he hopes to buy a Norwegian one, he said, while already wearing a cap and socks stamped with the Norwegian flag. <\/span><\/p>\n

Still, Missouri said he is proud of Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to be really good, I want them to succeed, I want them to win against Senegal and France, but I\u2019ve lived my teenage years \u2026 my youth in Norway,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

For both countries, he said, simply getting to the World Cup is a win, as both cultures value soccer and have not been to the official tournaments in many years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people are just genuinely happy to be here, treating it like a huge party,\u201d said Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n

Norway has returned to the FIFA World Cup after 28 years away, while Iraq ended a 40-year absence from the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018The world is scratching its head\u2019: John Kerry calls Trump\u2019s plan to end Iran war an attempt to fix his own mistakes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Mohammed Missouri, being Iraqi-Norwegian turned Bostonian means today he is living the best of all worlds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nNo matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2882\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Mohammed Missouri, being Iraqi-Norwegian turned Bostonian means today he is living the best of all worlds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2882\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T20:35:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"No matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T20:35:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882\"},\"wordCount\":506,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/1cec5b597adf01a2c708dd1a3246d1f0.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=2882\",\"name\":\"No matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner - 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