Group I Preview

France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq

World Rankings: 

• France 1st

• Senegal 14th

• Norway 31st

• Iraq 57th

  
  

GROUP STRENGTH

• Group I is the strongest group at the tournament, pairing #1 world ranked team France against Senegal once more, echoing the 2002 World Cup where Senegal triumphed thanks to Papa Bouba Diop. 

• Also starring in this group is elite Norway striker Erling Haaland, who will look to add to his 27 Premier League and 8 Champions League goals this season.

• Iraq look to be up against it in a group of sublime team and individual quality that might see them exit the tournament swiftly.

  
  

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France

As you’d expect and hope from the world’s top ranked team, France strolled to victory in their group. Facing the likes of Iceland, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, they won 5 and drew 1 game to finish top with a GD of +12. 

The only blot on their otherwise impeccable record was a 2-2 draw against Iceland in Reykjavik. Along the way, Kylian Mbappé overtook Thierry Henry’s all-time goals and now sits just one goal behind leader Olivier Giroud, who retired from international football in 2024 seemingly leaving the door open for Mbappé to bag the record at the 2026 World Cup.

It seems very likely, then, that we’ll see history being made. 

The face of a man who’s out to destroy Giroud’s record.

Play style:

Didier Deschamps knows how to build a tournament side, and you’ll see more of the same from him. Like Spain, they play solidly at the back and are devastating on the attack, with a wealth of talent ready to expose the opposition defence. 

Deschamps knows how to get the best out of Mbappé, too. He’ll quite often play Mateta as a focal point number 9 and leave space on the left for Mbappé to exploit and cut in from. Dembélé and Olise are always ready to start devastating counters on the turnover. 

They also have staggering depth in quality, so expect them to go deep into the tournament even if injuries kick in.

Expected formation: 

4-2-3-1.

Chances: 

Likely to win the group and one of the favourites to win the whole tournament. They won’t slip up against Senegal this time and should have enough in the tank to power through the group stages and probably all the way through to the semi-finals at least. 

And excitingly, if France and Spain win their groups, they will meet in Dallas on July 14th, 2026 in match number 101. What a game that would be.

In fact, if England, France, Spain and Argentina all win their groups they would all be kept separate until the semi-final stage. If any of them finish 2nd, the calculus changes.

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Senegal

The Lions of Teranga come into the tournament in blistering form, finishing undefeated in qualifying with 24 points. Some call their current squad a new “golden generation”, but although they have incredible talent such as the likes of Sadio Mané (desperate to impress after missing the 2022 World Cup with injury), Nicolas Jackson, Ismaila Sarr and upcoming star in the making Ibrahim Mbaye. 

Play style:

Senegal set up with an interesting style that is very tactically flexible depending on if they’re playing ‘inferior’ or ‘superior’ opposition. They typically play a four man back line but can switch to a three/five when they’re up against tough opposition. They deployed this to great effect against Morocco. 

Manager Pape Thiaw has a clear philosophy, stating “I play offensively, and after every loss of possession, we must immediately recover the ball.” His focus is finding the right balance between defensive solidity and attacking fluidity. 

He’s also on FIFA’s Technical Study Group, so he clearly knows his tactical onions.

Expected formation: 

4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 as their bread and butter setup, peppered with a 3-4-3 that can merge into a back five when under the cosh against elite setups.

Chances: 

They could come second in the group, but they will have to be wary of the elite individual quality of Erling Haaland in their game against Norway. Both should beat Iraq, and both should lose to France, so it’ll come down to the head-to-head to see who finishes 2nd and 3rd. I think Norway might pinch it.

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Norway

There’s something about Erling Haaland that just makes me think of Ivan Drago in Rocky. Maybe it’s his predilection for drinking raw milk, which sounds like the kind of the thing the movie antagonist Drago might also do as part of a training montage before punching a laboratory machine through a wall.

"If he dairies, he dairies."

The machine that is Mr Haaland comes into the tournament as the Golden Boot winner in the EPL for the third season running, having scored 27 goals this season in the Premier League, and is the fastest player to hit 100 PL goals in just 111 games. He added a further 8 to his tally in the Champions League. It’s got to be the milk.

Norway as a whole qualified for the tournament this year for the first time since 1998 partly due to Haaland’s prowess. They scored 37 goals and conceded just 5, winning all 8 games and knocking Italy into 2nd placed peril and eventual misery after beating them 4-1 at the San Siro. What a night.

If Haaland can have a great individual tournament, they could pinch 2nd spot here. The bookies don’t think so, but I reckon they can sneak it.

Play style:

As you’d expect, the goal for Norway is to get the ball to Haaland as quickly and efficiently as possible. They look to move the ball as vertically as possible between the lines catching opposition defences off guard.

With the elite Martin Ødegaard dictating the play, they drag players with Nusa and Bobb and create passing lanes in the channels. 

And when Haaland gets the ball in a dangerous area, we know he doesn’t miss, even if England’s Harry Kane has been slightly more clinical in his league campaign this season, Haaland’s stats are devastating with a 26-28% conversion rate.

Expected formation: 

An asymmetrical 4-3-3 in possession and a compact mid block without the ball.

Chances: 

I think they’ll surprise some pundits (as much as you can be surprised by a team that has Erling Haaland in it) and finish 2nd. 

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Iraq

Iraq had one of the most gruelling qualification campaigns in history, having to play 21 matches to get their qualification over the line. They missed direct qualification in both the 3rd and 4th regional phases and it took a fifth round playoff aggregate 3-2 win against the UAE to get to the final round of playoffs. 

Then they played Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff, with magical goals from Ali Al-Hamadi and Aymen Hussein sealing their place at the World Cup. Exhausted and battered from such a long campaign, they then found themselves drawn against France, Senegal and Norway. Brutal. 

This is their first World Cup appearance in 40 years.

Play style:

They typically play with two compact banks of four, looking to deny space and minimise their individual quality disadvantage by remaining steadfast and solid. They’re one of the few sides in the tournament to eschew the “rapid short-passing transition” philosophy that is so popular in 2026, instead going direct and long with route one football. 

They launch long balls to Aymen Hussein, whose strength in the air is difficult to counter. He either goes direct himself or holds up the ball / creates flick ons for on-running second-ball runners like Ali Jasim and Zidane Iqbal.

They’re also keen on set-pieces, as you’d imagine. They use the height of Sulaka and Hussein to dangerous effect from corners. 

But as you would expect from a side with a quality differential against other teams at this level, they can be prone to losing individual battles and losing their shape, and they do not like going a goal down as they tend to lack the creativity to respond.

Expected formation: 

4-4-2 or 4-5-1 depending on the situation. Risk-averse.

Chances: 

Extremely limited. We are confidently predicting they’ll finish 4th in the group.

The Tournament Scout’s Prediction 

France to win the group 

Norway to land 2nd place ahead of Senegal

Senegal claim 3rd 

Iraq adrift in 4th, likely beaten by everyone