Who: Norway vs France
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group I matches
Location: Boston Stadium, Foxboro, USA
Date and time: Friday, 3pm local time (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 15:15 GMT, ahead of a live text commentary stream.
One of the most anticipated games of the group stage will take place in Boston on Friday, with World Cup favorites France taking on promising Norway in a potentially pivotal match.
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The result will decide first place in Group I after both teams defeated Senegal and Iraq in their opening two matches to secure a place in the knockout stages.
Is Norway content to just pass through?
Football players these days are generally so accustomed to the media that post-match interviews don’t elicit particularly exciting reactions.
That can’t be said in a conversation with Fox Sports after Erling Haaland’s brace helped Norway advance to the Round of 32 with a win over Senegal on Monday night.
When asked about the next match against France, he said, “Honestly, I’m not too worried. We won, we managed to get through. It’s unbelievable.”
“I couldn’t worry too much about that game right now. They (France) will probably beat us and probably win the whole tournament.”
Refreshing honesty, but don’t discount the Vikings. Haaland is involved in an interesting battle for the Golden Boot with France defender Kylian Mbappé, with Lionel Messi currently leading the race.
In fact, Norway have scored more goals than France through the two games, but have conceded a total of three goals in both games, which should encourage the likes of Mbappé, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Desiree Douye.
France aims for first place without Deschamps
Les Bleus’ preparations for this match have been affected by the withdrawal of head coach Didier Deschamps from training camp.
The French Football Federation announced that Deschamps learned of his mother’s death on Tuesday morning and would return to France to attend the funeral.
“We wish our head coach great strength and assure you of everyone’s support during this incredibly difficult time,” FFF said.
Assistant coach Guy Stephan will take charge on an interim basis until Deschamps returns, but will lead the team against Norway. Rotation is possible after a short turnaround between games, but the wealth of talent in the French team makes even a squad player a formidable proposition.
France beat Iraq on Monday in Philadelphia despite the weather and are now in first place with a +5 goal difference.
This means they only need a draw with Norway to secure their breakthrough as Group I winners, which would give Les Bleus a favorable round of 32 clash with third-placed qualifiers, with opponents potentially including Sweden and a clash with Germany in the last 16.
In the quarter-finals, Ivory Coast will play in the first round of the finals, followed by Brazil or the Netherlands who will advance to the round of 16. England are considered to be the favorites for the quarter-finals, and if they come in second place, the road will be even more difficult.
How will the World Cup group stage be played?
Group I includes France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq.
After the first two rounds of matches, France leads the group with six points and Norway is in second place on goal difference, meaning that even with a draw France can still advance as group winners. Senegal is in 3rd place and Iraq is in 4th place, both with 0 points.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups and the top eight teams in third place will advance to the next round of 32. The Round of 32 was first introduced at the World Cup after the tournament expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
France and Norway are guaranteed a place in the final round, but depending on the goal difference and the performance of the teams in the other groups, there is a possibility that the winner of Senegal vs. Iraq could take three points and advance.
form guide
(From the past 5 games, latest results)
France: WWWWW
Norway: WWDWD
France won their first two group games against Senegal and Iraq, but their only goal came in a warm-up game against Ivory Coast, when a much-changed team lost 2-1 in Paris, sandwiched between friendlies against Colombia and Northern Ireland.
Norway have beaten the same opponents in Group I but are one place behind France on goal difference and Senegal’s late second goal against the Nordics on Monday night could prove decisive. Stahl Solbakken’s team entered the tournament with a record of drawing with Morocco and Switzerland in the preliminaries and defeating Sweden.
direct confrontation
These teams have met 15 times in the last 103 years, with France winning seven, Norway winning four and the remaining four countries drawing. However, they have never faced each other in a major tournament.
The last time they met was in a friendly in 2014, with Olivier Giroud scoring twice and France winning 4-0.
Norway vs France – Team News
There will likely be rotation in the final group games, with a shorter turnaround between games and an opportunity for time-restricted players to get minutes in the first two games.
Norway’s Julian Ryerson limped off early in the match against Senegal with a thigh problem, and Markus Pedersen, who came on as a substitute and scored the opening goal, is likely to be used as a substitute. Leo Østigard could be selected last ahead of Torbjörn Heggem or Kristoffer Ajer, while Fredrik Olsnes could be rested to give Christian Thorstvedt a chance.
France will be hoping to secure the points they need to advance as group winners, and while they are not discounting Norway’s attacking threat, they have such quality squad depth that Theo Hernandez could rotate in central midfield in place of Lucas Digne on the left.
Norway’s predicted eleven: Nyland (goalkeeper). Pedersen, Agel, Heggem, Moller Wolf. Osnes, Berge, Odegaard. Nusa, Haaland, Soros.
France’s predicted eleven: Maignan (goalkeeper). Kunde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez. Choameni, singing, and Rabiot. Dembele, Mbappe, Barcola.
