Group I features an embarrassment of attacking riches, which will be put on full display at MetLife Stadium, just outside New York City.
France, the European powers, and the 2018 winners will try to get back to the mountaintop after a thrilling loss in the 2022 Final, featuring a deep roster of elite talent, headlined by Kylian Mbappe and the reigning Balon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembele.
Senegal is led by one of Africa’s greatest strikers, Sadio Mane, who once starred for Liverpool before moving on to Saudi Arabia. But there might be no attacker more imposing than Norway’s Erling Haaland — the Manchester City man who helped his side become a buzzsaw in European qualifying to finally get back to the World Cup.
France
Region: UEFA
Qualification: UEFA Group D winners
Manager: Didier Deschamps
World Cup appearances: 17
Best finish: Champions (1998, 2018)
Four years ago, France was one remarkable Final away from becoming just the third nation ever to win back-to-back World Cup titles, but fell tantalizingly short in a penalty shootout to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Now in the United States, the European juggernauts are still very much the favorites to lift the trophy for a third time — and this might be their best team yet. They are deep at every position, with even their reserve unit calling the top leagues in Europe home.
That depth is going to be put to the test immediately, as star defender and Arsenal man William Saliba recently suffered a back injury, but has been deemed “fine” to play by manager Didier Deschamps.
One Player To Watch: Kylian Mbappe
For all the talk of Mbappe being the next G.O.A.T. after a blistering start to his young career, which was headlined by his World Cup triumph in 2018, the winning has dried up, even though he did snag Europe’s golden boot award with 31 goals this season.
He has yet to win Spain’s La Liga since joining Real Madrid two years ago, and the UEFA Champions League has proved elusive. It certainly does not help that his old club, PSG, just celebrated winning its second consecutive European crown late last month in Budapest.
Though he in no way was at fault for France’s loss in the World Cup Final four years ago against Argentina — he scored a hat trick to key a frenzied comeback — his side was knocked out in the semifinals of Euro 2024 by Spain, and Les Bleus have been chasing them ever since. This World Cup gives Mbappe the opportunity to reaffirm himself as the best in the world.
26-man roster
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernández (Paris Saint-Germain), Theo Hernández (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kanté (Fenerbahçe), Manu Koné (AS Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (AS Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain), Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Internazionale)
Senegal
Senegal’s Sadio Mane celebrates after he scores a penalty during the shoot-out REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
Region: CAF
Qualification: Top of CAF Group B
Manager: Pape Thiaw
World Cup appearances: 4
Best Finish: Quarterfinals (2002)
Twenty-four years after announcing its arrival on the global soccer scene with a shock win over defending champions France, Senegal goes up against the French again in a World Cup group stage.
Papa Bouba Diop’s 30th-minute goal was enough to defeat France in the opening game of the tournament and set Senegal on its way to the World Cup quarter-finals, where it went out on golden goal against Turkiye.
It would be 16 years before Senegal qualified for the World Cup again, but the African nation has now made it three tournaments in a row.
Senegal came through a difficult group in Africa, pipping DR Congo to top spot after coming from two goals down to win 3-2 against the Congolese last September.
Pape Thiaw’s side enjoyed an excellent Africa Cup of Nations campaign at the beginning of the year, initially winning the tournament after a farce of a final. However, Senegal was later stripped of the title for walking off the field after Morocco was awarded an injury-time final.
Whether Thiaw’s side uses that decision to fuel its World Cup campaign remains to be seen, but there are enough veterans in the squad to provide experience.
Sadio Mane, playing in what is surely his last World Cup, will be pivotal, as will Idrissa Gana Gueye, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Édouard Mendy, who make up a strong spine.
Senegal faces a tough challenge, however, with a clinical Norway side joining France in Group I. A win over Asian qualifiers, Iraq, is a must.
Player to Watch: Iliman Ndiaye
Senegal may boast a raft of experienced veterans, but it is the relatively inexperienced Iliman Ndiaye who might attract the most attention this summer. Ndiaye has been largely excellent since moving to Everton from Marseille two seasons ago, reportedly attracting interest from across Europe. A good tournament may bolster his prospects of a big move, and he possesses the trickery to make something happen for Senegal this summer.
26-man roster
Goalkeepers: Édouard Mendy (Al Ahli), Mory Diaw (Le Havre AC), Yehvann Diouf (Nice)
Defenders: Krépin Diatta (AS Monaco), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal), El Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham United), Mamadou Sarr (Chelsea), Moussa Niakhaté (Lyon), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray)
Midfielders: Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Lamine Camara (AS Monaco), Habib Diarra (Sunderland), Pathé Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur), Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Sadio Mané (Al Nassr), Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Assane Diao (Como), Ibrahim Mbaye (Paris Saint-Germain), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Bamba Dieng (Lorient), Cherif Ndiaye (Samsunspor)
Norway
Norway’s Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
Region: UEFA
Qualification: Top of UEFA Group I
Manager: Stale Solbakkan
World Cup appearances: 4
Best finish: Round of 16 (1938, 1998)
It is somewhat baffling, given how long Erling Haaland has been around, that Norway is preparing for its first major tournament since Euro 2000.
Despite Haaland’s prodigious talent in front of goal, it hadn’t really clicked for the Scandinavian outfit, who missed out on even the play-off places for the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
That all changed during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Norway was ruthless, scoring a staggering 37 goals as they won all eight games, beating Italy by an aggregate score of 7-1.
Haaland, unsurprisingly, topped the goalscoring charts with an astonishing 16 goals, but Norway has unearthed enough talent to supplement the Manchester City goalscoring machine.
Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth scored five times during qualifying, as did Rangers’ Thelo Aasgaard, while Crystal Palace forward Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in a recent friendly win over Sweden. Then there is Martin Odegaard, who possesses the passing range to pick out the forward ahead of him.
Norway’s reward for such an imperious qualifying campaign is a place in what is arguably the group of death – if such a thing exists in an expanded, 48-team World Cup – alongside France, Senegal, and Iraq.
Their qualifying campaign has proved they are more than capable of mixing it with the best.
Player to Watch: Erling Haaland
Who else? Haaland’s goalscoring was ridiculous as Norway cruised to World Cup qualification and boasts an international goalscoring record that beggars belief, scoring 55 goals in 49 appearances for Norway.
At only 25, he is already well on his way to eclipsing Cristiano Ronaldo’s world record of 143 international goals, and it would be a great surprise if he did not open his World Cup account this summer.
26-man roster
Goalkeepers: Ørjan Nyland (Sevilla), Egil Selvik (Watford), Sander Tangvik (Hamburg SV)
Defenders: Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford), Leo Østigård (Genoa), David Møller Wolfe (Wolverhampton), Marcus Pedersen (Torino), Torbjørn Heggem (Bologna), Fredrik André Bjørkan (Bodø/Glimt), Henrik Falchener (Viking), Sondre Langås (Derby County)
Midfielders: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal), Sander Berge (Fulham), Patrick Berg (Bodø/Glimt), Kristian Thorstvedt (Sassuolo), Morten Thorsby (Cremonese), Thelo Aasgaard (Rangers), Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica), Jens Petter Hauge (Bodø/Glimt), Fredrik Aursnes (Benfica), Oscar Bobb (Fulham), Antonio Nusa (Red Bull Leipzig)
Iraq
Iraq’s Ali Jasim in action REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo
Region: AFC
Qualification: Inter-confederation Play-off 2 winner
Manager: Graham Arnold
World Cup appearances: 2
Best Finish: Group stages (1986)
Iraq has had to wait 40 years to appear at a World Cup again after it made its debut in 1986, during which the country has seen war and oppression in abundance.
It is little wonder that it took so long for Iraq to return.
From the 1980s onwards, Uday Hussein, son of dictator Saddam Hussein, used a brutal regime of torture and humiliation to punish players for poor performances, while the national team was not permitted to play in Iraq following the outbreak of the war with the US in 2003, which ultimately deposed Saddam. The Iraqi national soccer team has not played in Baghdad since the war started, and only returned to Iraq in any capacity six years ago.
Now, however, Iraq is back at the World Cup after an arduous qualifying campaign that saw the Middle Eastern nation go through six rounds, culminating in a 2-1 victory over Bolivia in Mexico in March. Iraq was the last team to qualify for the World Cup.
The appointment of Graham Arnold, who guided Australia to the last 16 in 2022, has proved inspired, with Iraq proving resilient and difficult to beat.
They find themselves in a difficult group, and prospects of reaching the knockout stages are slim given the limited nature of their squad, which boasts former Manchester United youngster Zidane Iqbal, Nashville SC midfielder Ahmed Qasem, and Ipswich Town’s Ali Al-Hamadi among its most notable names. But, all things considered, Iraq’s qualification is a success in its own right.
Player to watch: Zidane Iqbal
Formerly of Manchester United’s academy, Zidane Iqbal has found modest success since moving to Utrecht in 2023, making 40 appearances for the Eredivisie side. However, disciplinary and fitness issues saw Iqbal demoted from the first team for large parts of the 2025/26 season, with Utrecht coach Ron Jans unhappy with his dedication in training.
If Iqbal can rediscover his form, fitness, and fire ahead of the World Cup, he can become an important asset for Iraq.
26-man roster
Goalkeepers: Fahad Talib (Al-Talaba), Jalal Hassan (Al-Zawraa), Ahmed Basil (Al-Shorta)
Defenders: Hussein Ali (Pogoń Szczecin), Manaf Younis (Al-Shorta), Zaid Tahseen (Pakhtakor), Rebin Sulaka (Port FC), Akam Hashem (Al-Zawraa), Merchas Doski (Viktoria Plzeň), Ahmed Yahya (Al-Shorta), Zaid Ismail (Al-Talaba), Frans Putros (Port FC), Mustafa Saadoon (Al-Shorta)
Midfielders: Amir Al-Ammari (Cracovia), Kevin Yakob (AGF Aarhus), Zidane Iqbal (FC Utrecht), Aimar Sher (Sarpsborg 08), Ibrahim Bayesh (Al-Riyadh), Ahmed Qasim (Elfsborg), Youssef Amyn (Eintracht Braunschweig), Marko Farji (Strømsgodset)
Forwards: Ali Jasim (Como), Ali Al-Hamadi (Ipswich Town), Ali Yousef (Al-Shorta), Aymen Hussein (Al-Khor), Mohanad Ali (Al-Shorta)
Group I schedule
Tuesday, June 16: France vs. Senegal, 3 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, NJ)
Tuesday, June 16: Iraq vs. Norway, 6 p.m. (Foxborough, MA)
Monday, June 22: France vs. Iraq, 5 p.m. (Philadelphia)
Monday, June 22: Norway vs. Senegal, 8 p.m. (East Rutherford)
Friday, June 26: Norway vs. France, 3 p.m. (Foxborough)
Friday, June 26: Senegal vs. Iraq, 3 p.m. (Toronto)
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