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But they are poised to play Germany in the last-16 if results go to plan. Patrick Vieira, speaking on ITV, says he thinks that would be a “good draw” for France because of Germany’s defensive frailties.
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— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 26, 20263 - 🇫🇷 France have scored 3+ goals in each of their last four FIFA World Cup matches, the longest run by a team since Spain between 1998 and 2002 (4).
Menacing. pic.twitter.com/j2M2ncS37k
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Norway made changes including a second-string back four, but that is still an ominous display of France’s offensive power. Everyone seems happy despite the scoreline: France top the group and score 10 goals in three games, and Norway’s starters are rested for the last 32 tie against Ivory Coast.
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France have four, and it has been another eye-catching cameo from Barcola. Beats his man down the left, and lifts a cross to the penalty spot for Doue to attack. Plants a header beyond the goalkeeper like a seasoned centre-forward.
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Theo Hernandez blazes a shot over the bar from distance, much to the chagrin of Cherki who wanted him to pass.
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Senegal have goal number five, so their goal difference is now +2.
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Changes galore in this half, which has made the contest quite fractured. France are about to make a couple more. Mateta is one of them, as well as Malo Gusto, so some extra Premier League representation on the way. Mbappe and Kounde are the players making way.
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Two more Norway subs: Hauge and Nusa the players introduced. They also have a corner after a mix-up involving Kounde and Konate. France clear the corner.
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Barcola shows off his blistering pace to get in behind the Norway defence but Selvik saves his shot from a tight angle. Barcola is not a starter in the biggest games for PSG and can be quite erratic in his final action, but what a player there could be if he put the pieces together.
In other news: Senegal are 4-0 up against Iraq, Pape Gueye has scored his second.
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Norway still pushing forward, Berg has a shot from the edge of the box blocked. Solbakken will be pleased with how this second half has gone, relatively speaking. No further damage, no injuries and he has not been tempted to use Odegaard or Haaland.
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Another France sub: Konate replaces his former RB Leipzig team-mate Upamecano. France have knocked off in this half, but you cannot really blame them.
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How often in this tournament has there been a good chance just after the break? Lovely Norway move, opening France up, and Oscar Bobb only had Maignan to beat, but his side-footed shot was too close to the goalkeeper. Norway could well be level by now.
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In the midst of life, we are in another hydration break. The Mexican wave has started and DJ Otzi’s Hey Baby is playing, which tells you all you need to know about the ambiance of this second half.
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Some France changes on the way before the corner: Dembele and Olise are off, replaced by Cherki and Barcola are on. Not too shabby. From the corner, Mbappe lifts a shot over the bar.
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A further update: It is now Senegal 3 Iraq 0, so a healthy boost to their goal difference.
France now have a corner after Dembele tests Pedersen. Norway have at least sured things up on that flank.
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Another goal in the other Group I game, and Senegal are 2-0 up against Iraq thanks to an Ismaila Sarr goal. They are surely home and hosed in that game, and are in the top eight of the third-placed teams (that still doesn’t sound right) as things stand. Sarr having a better day than his Palace team-mate Strand Larsen.
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Lovely interplay from the France attack, Doue and Mbappe exchanging passes. The world and his dog knew they had four outstanding individuals, but it is rather ominous if they start gelling as a unit. Hard to know how much to account for Norway’s changes. Lacroix not far from meeting Olise’s free-kick.
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Great effort from Mbappe, curling a right-footed shot from 25 yards not far over the bar. Norway goalkeeper Selvik is sat down with his glove off, and is receiving some treatment on an apparent finger injury.
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A Norway corner is flicked across the France six-yard box but no red shirt can apply the finishing touch. Speaking of shirts, France’s kit looks white on TV but they say it is actually a very pale shade of minty green.
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If Norway were to drag themselves back to level terms, you sense that penalty needed to go in. Some of Norway’s football in the France have has been positive throughout, the other side of the game has been there problem. They gave up goals against Senegal and Iraq too, even with their first-choice team. But they will be a good watch in the knockouts.
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No conviction in the run-up or the strike from Strand Larsen, who showed that he was going to the goalkeeper’s left. Maignan reads it and makes the save. I question why these stuttering run-ups are all the rage of penalties.
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Lively wing play from Oscar Bobb, weaving between challenges in the box, and it is lazy defending from Theo Hernandez who does not move his feet in small steps, and just sticks out a long leg. Certain penalty.
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Norway keeping the ball in the first few minutes of the half, but all of their possession is in front of the France defensive shape.
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Norway need to stabilise and keep a clean sheet for the next 15 minutes.
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No surprise to learn that the left-back Bjorkan is coming off after being given a chasing by Dembele, replaced by Pedersen, who is usually a right-back. In midfield, Thorstvedt off, Thorsby on.
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Norway’s heavily rotated back four against this France front four has been a gross mismatch, with Ousmane Dembele helping himself to the second-earliest hat-trick in World Cup history. Dembele jogs down the tunnel at half-time, and he breezed through that 45 minutes. Norway had their moments going forward, but cannot hold back the tide.
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Selvik with another sharp piece of goalkeeping at the feet of Kone, after the midfielder played a lovely one-two with Mbappe. It is bad news for the rest of the tournament if Mbappe is producing as a creator and a scorer and combining with his team-mates like that.
Five minutes of added time to play.
It feels like a trick of the imagination that only a few days ago Didier Deschamps was defending Ousmane Dembele from criticism.
Dembele was under scrutiny after an underwhelming performance in the opening game against Senegal, while before this game today he had only scored two goals for France since March 2025.
This has been some response from the 2018 World Cup winner. There is little doubt that he will be vital for France at this World Cup.
France are on course to win the group and set up a knockout tie for Tuesday night against a third-placed team from either Group C, D, F, G or H.
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Norway almost gift France a fourth with a short backpass, but Selvik did well to smother at the feet of Mbappe.
Norway then win a corner as they go on the attack, and Aasgaard wins a booming header at the back post, and Upamecano did very well to volley the ball clear.
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Mbappe goes down looking for a free-kick at the edge of the Norway box, but nothing in it. Norway’s left-back Bjorkan has had a nightmare half up against Dembele, caught between three stools positionally. Changes surely afoot at half-time.
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To think the discussion coming into the tournament was whether Mbappe and Dembele, who did not really excel in tandem at PSG, could play together. This half would suggest they can; stop one, and the other will hurt you.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 26, 20263 - 🇫🇷 Ousmane Dembélé's hat-trick just 32 minutes into today's game is the second earliest a player has scored a FIFA World Cup hat-trick in a match, behind Erich Probst in 1954 for Austria against Czechoslovakia (24 minutes).
Rapid. pic.twitter.com/AV2axSte2F
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All of the attention was on Mbappe’s goalscoring, but Dembele has rocketed up the standings in the race for the golden boot after a hat-trick inside the first 32 minutes. It’s another high-quality finish, wrong-footing the defender and curling another shot into the far corner. Selvik no chance.
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Norway are causing some problems, Oscar Bobb clearing space for Strand Larsen but he picked the wrong pass at the edge of the box.
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Play has now resumed after some ear-splitting music at the Gillette Stadium. Not so many boos today, perhaps the fans are in a relaxed mood knowing their teams have already progressed.
Aasgaard with another body feint, this time to send Olise the long way, and then his backheel releases a runner on the overlap. The Rangers man has had quite the few minutes.
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Barely time to catch breathe after those two goals, and it is time for the first hydration break of what has been a very fun game so far.
Hope this hydration break doesn’t ruin the flow of this match.
It’s been a crazy opening 25 minutes and absorbing entertainment.
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Just 79 seconds after Dembele’s goal, Aasgaard steps inside Upamecano and scores for Norway with a smart finish. This match has gone to form: goals at both ends have been a theme of Group I.
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 26, 2026What a response from Norway 🔥
Just 79 seconds after Dembélé scores a second for France, Thelo Aasgaard pulls one back for Norway... pic.twitter.com/2g2xi5Cm2X
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This finish is even better than the first, and this one was with Dembele’s left foot rather than right. That is what makes him so difficult to defend. Ostigard had pulled back Mbappe as the space for the attack opened up, Michael Oliver played a good advantage, and Dembele curled a shot into the bottom corner from more than 20 yards.
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Mbappe could have equalled Messi’s tally of 18 World Cup goals already, this time he chops inside in the box and he tries to give the goalkeeper the eyes but Selvik read it.
Iraq are now down to 10 men against Senegal, so a chance for the Africa Cup of Nations finalists to rack up the goals and move up the third-place mini-league.
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Good chance for a Norway equaliser, but Strand Larsen could not get over his volley after a mix-up involving Upamecano in the box. Such an open game with both teams playing without pressure. More goals are surely on the way, though it’s a good bet France will get most of them.
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Norway midfielder Aasgaard caught on the ball in front of his defence by Tchouameni, and Mbappe finds Olise with a reverse pass. Olise’s shot was heading for the bottom corner but he was denied by a timely defensive block.
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In the group’s other match, Senegal are already 1-0 up against Iraq thanks to a Abdoulaye Seck goal. Bad news for Scotland, good news for Senegal in their quest for third.
Norway responded with a promising attack, but Dembele and Mbappe soon threaten going the other way.
France’s formidable front four really are devastating.
Dembele, Olise, Doue and Mbappe. Wow. With those players in the team, France are arguably the favourites to win the World Cup.
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Norway all over the place the back, the full-backs are having a torrid time. Mbappe was able to collect the ball centrally, and spread play to Dembele with a simple switch. Norway’s left-back, Bjorkan, was five yards in front of the rest of the back four.
Dembele cuts into the box, shapes to shoot with his left, but chops back to his right and smashes a shot across the goalkeeper. The door was left ajar by Norway, but that was devastating.
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Inevitable that Kylian Mbappe will score tonight against such a strangely rotated Norway team.
Mbappe’s bid to become the World Cup’s record goalscorer is an intriguing subplot away from France’s mission to lift the trophy.
He is only two goals away from Lionel Messi (who has 18) and it’s difficult to envisage him not claiming that record soon.
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Norway’s Selvik goalkeeper may well have tipped Mbappe’s shot on to the bar, if he did it was an excellent save. Bright and breezy start to the game, both teams’ first two games suggested there would be goals at both ends. That forecast has been revised since Norway’s team selection.
France go close again! Dembele with a clever reverse pass to release Kounde in the box, and Kone then stings the palms of Selvik with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.
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Kylian Mbappe hits the bar 24 seconds into the game! Almost a spectacular opening goal, Mbappe away in the right channel after a loose pass, and he crashes a shot from a tight angle which bounces down off the woodwork just a yard or so from the goal line.
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The crowd will be asked to pay their respects to victims of the earthquakes in Venezuela.
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Time for the national anthems, and frankly most opponents will come off second-best against France in that department. I’m surprised Stale Solbakken didn’t suggest rotating Norway’s anthem, too.
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Haaland is warming up with his hair down and he says hello to Manchester City team-mate Rayan Cherki. It says it all about France’s options that Cherki is yet to start a game.
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That will not confirm Scotland’s elimination, but that could follow by 6am tomorrow morning UK time after Belgium vs New Zealand and Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia in particular. It looks like the Tartan Army will not be going back to Massachusetts (unlike the Bee Gees).
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Senegal XI: Diaw, Jakobs, Niakhate, Seck, Diatta, Diarra, Idrissa Gueye, Mane, Camara, Mbaye, Ismaila Sarr
Subs: Yehvann Diouf, Mamadou Sarr, Koulibaly, Ciss, Diao, Dieng, Jackson, Cherif Ndiaye, Iliman Ndiaye, Pape Matar Sarr, Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, Antoine Mendy, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Pape Gueye
Iraq XI: Basil, Doski, Sulaka, Hashim, Putros, Al-Ammari, Qasem, Iqbal, Bayesh, Jasim, Al-Hamadi
Subs: Talib, Hussein Ali, Tahseen, Younus, Amyn, Mohanad Ali, Hassan, Yousif, Maknzi, Hussein, Yakob
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That’s the gamble they’re taking [winning against Ivory Coast]. If they win next week you’re thinking it’s a brilliant decision by the manager. If they come up short then you’re thinking they’ve lost a bit of rhythm in their play.
Tournament football is tough for them. The French lads are used to it and the different demands. It is new to Norway.
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Norway have taken a different approach, putting their chips on fresh legs against Ivory Coast rather than chasing the win to take top spot. Midfielder Fredrik Aursnes is the only player to keep his place from the 3-2 victory over Senegal. I’d be feeling a little put out in his position.
That could well prove a sensible decision, but a shame not to see Mbappe vs Haaland from the start.
Norway XI: Selvik; Bjorkan, Falchener, Ostigard, Aursnes; Thorsvtedt, Berg, Aasgaard; Schjelderup, Strand Larsen, Bobb
Subs: Berge, Haaland, Nusa, Hauge, Pedersen, Nyland, Langas, Heggem, Moller Wolfe, Ryerson, Sorloth, Tangvik, Thorsby, Ajer, Odegaard
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As expected, Lacroix replaces Saliba but Koundé keeps his place over Malo Gusto. Tchouaméni and Doué replace Rabiot and Barcola, but there has not been wholesale rotation.
Starting XI: Maignan; T. Hernandez, Upamecano, Lacroix, Koundé; Tchouaméni, Koné; Doué, Olise, Dembélé; Mbappé
Subs: Akliouche, Barcola, Cherki, Digne, Gusto, L. Hernandez, Kante, Konate, Mateta, Rabiot, Risser, Saliba, Samba, Thuram, Zaire-Emery
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— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 26, 20265 - Michael Oliver tonight referees his fifth FIFA World Cup match - the only English referees to oversee more are Arthur Ellis and Howard Webb (six each).
Whistle. pic.twitter.com/Cm0sUwwF8a
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Both Norway and France are through to the last 32, and not unsurprisingly France have been a popular selection among players of our World Cup predictor. You can see whether they come out as your winners by having a go here.
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The game has been billed as Erling Haaland vs Kylian Mbappé but Norway vs France will also determine top spot in Group I.
France are strong favourites to claim it after two victories and seven goals, and only a Norway victory in Foxborough, Massachusetts will depose them.
There have also been plenty of goals in Norway’s wins over Iraq and Senegal, with Haaland scoring four and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard providing a couple of assists.
Mbappé is also on four goals, one behind tournament top scorer Lionel Messi, and this is the first international in which Mbappé and Haaland have faced each other.
Norway has been ear-marked as tournament dark horses for months, but their talent is front-loaded and their defence will face a stern examination against the speed and dexterity of France’s attack. Should Norway fail to win and finish second in the group, they will play Ivory Coast in the round of 32.
Didier Deschamps will not be on the touchline after travelling back to France following the death of his mother.
Assistant manager Guy Stéphan will stand in for Deschamps and changes are expected in the starting XI.
William Saliba will be rested as he continues to nurse back discomfort, replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, who has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea in recent days.
Elsewhere in the team, Aurélien Tchouaméni is expected to come in for Adrien Rabiot and Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto could make his first start of the tournament. As things stand, France will play Sweden in the next round if they top the group though there is scope for that to change.
In the other game in the group, Senegal are the only team currently in third-place on zero points, and know they need to beat Iraq to stand a chance of progressing as one of the eight-best teams in that mini-league.
Three points for Senegal would lift them above Scotland in that table, and push Steve Clarke’s team closer to elimination. Scotland’s exit will not be confirmed by close of play tonight, but it could come early tomorrow morning after the conclusion of Group H and Group G, where Cape Verde’s and Belgium’s fixtures are relevant.
Full team news on the way shortly, and we will have goal updates from Senegal vs Iraq.
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