EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In an expanded 48-team World Cup that will see a total of 72 games, FIFA will be delighted that one of their final group games will be a high-stakes clash between two of the tournament’s biggest stars.
Norway’s 3-2 victory over Senegal at the New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) on Monday has set up a mouth-watering clash in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday between Norway and France to decide who will win Group I. In other words, it will pit Erling Haaland against Kylian Mbappé in what will be the biggest meeting of superstars this World Cup has seen so far, and a jeopardy-filled battle.
Both Norway and France have each opened their tournaments with two wins and, in doing so, have already punched their tickets to the knockout stages. Don’t be fooled, though, as there is still much to play for.
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Whichever team advances as group winners probably will be granted a potential knockout path of Sweden (round of 32) Germany (round of 16), Morocco or Netherlands (quarterfinal) and Spain (semifinal). The team that finishes second could instead face a gauntlet of top teams: Ivory Coast (round of 32), Brazil (round of 16), England (quarterfinal) and Argentina (semifinal).
Through another lens, when looking at the tournament through each team’s biggest stars, that is quite the difference. The loser on Friday would instead be granted a run of Yan Diomande, Vinícius Júnior, Harry Kane and Lionel Messi.
It’s easy to see which quarter of the draw a team might prefer.
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In truth, this outcome is no surprise. Norway’s clash with France was always likely to be one of the premier group games. The World Cup draw produced a table and a schedule that meant Haaland and Mbappé would meet in their final group game. What makes it more interesting is that it isn’t easy to call. France will be clear favorites, but there is no underestimating Norway.
The Vikings cruised through World Cup qualifying, during which they easily won all eight games, in which they handily beat Italy twice (3-0 in June and 4-1 in November). They also made light work of Iraq in a 4-1 victory in their opening game.
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Monday’s clash with Senegal — contested Africa Cup of Nations champions — was arguably their toughest competitive game in three years and the test so far of what team they really are, and they passed with mostly flying colors. Haaland scored twice to take his total to four for the tournament, and captain Martin Ødegaard was a livewire in midfield and a constant creative threat. With those two players in the spin of their team, along with highly rated youngster Antonio Nusa at left wing and Atlético Madrid forward Alexander Sørloth at right wing, Norway have a team capable of producing an upset over anyone.
Put simply, any team with Haaland up front can provide a shock. The striker has scored in every competitive game for Norway dating to October 2024. Put another way, that’s 24 goals in 12 competitive games.
“I’m enjoying it a lot,” Haaland told Fox Sports after the game. “I’ve been enjoying playing for Norway ever since my debut [in 2019].”
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FIFA, for its part, will be glad to have Norway in the competition. The final week of group games will feature multiple inconsequential games. Two of the three co-hosts — the United States and Mexico — have already won their groups due to newly introduced tiebreaker rules. The same goes for major teams such as England (if they beat Ghana on Tuesday), Argentina and Germany. There are some games involving major teams that could get interesting, but they could end up rather boring if the heavy favorites win out: the Netherlands must beat a woeful Tunisia side, Spain probably need to avoid defeat against an underwhelming Uruguay.
The only games to rival France vs. Norway in the final week of group action will be Brazil vs. Scotland and Morocco vs. Haiti, but those games don’t feature superstars going head-to-head.
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It will be the fourth time in their careers that Haaland and Mbappé go against each other, and remember that they are locked in a four-way battle alongside Messi and Kane for the Golden Boot.
If there’s one game you need to make time for in a group stage slightly lacking in jeopardy, make it Norway vs. France.
