Norway meet France at the Gillette Stadium on Friday evening for the final round of group stage matches in the 2026 World Cup.
With the Vikings claiming a crucial 3-2 win over Senegal and France beating Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia, you can find out the favourites to top Group I in Foxborough by reading our best World Cup betting sites article.
Playing in their fourth tournament finals and first in the previous 28 years, Norway have given a great account of themselves so far in the World Cup group stages.
Although they have achieved maximum points, Norway sit second behind France in Group I due to Les Bleus’ superior goal difference, though do have the chance to claim top spot with victory on Friday evening.
To do so, the Vikings would have to claim only their fourth victory over France, with their most recent triumph coming in a 2-1 win at the Ullevaal Stadium in August 2010 courtesy of an Erik Huseklepp second-half brace.
To confirm first place, France just need to avoid defeat against the Vikings, who they beat 4-0 when these sides last met in May 2014, aided by strikes from Loic Remy, Paul Pogba and an Olivier Giroud brace.
However, Les Bleus will undoubtedly be searching for all three points and doing the clean sweep in Group I, a feat that they last achieved in the 1998 World Cup where they won the first of their two stars.
France’s biggest selection talking point comes in attack with Paris Saint-Germain duo Barcola and Desire Doue playing one game each so far in Group I, though the latter did not have his best game against Iraq.
Manu Kone and Lucas Digne performed well when introduced in central midfield and left back respectively on Monday evening too, leaving it difficult to predict whether Aurelien Tchouameni or Theo Hernandez can win their places back.
Also netting on four occasions, Mbappe has proved to be Deschamps’ main man once again on the international stage and will be hungry to chase down Lionel Messi as the highest scorer of all time at World Cups.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
