World Cup Hero
Predict the 2026 World Cup your way
France and Norway share Group I at the 2026 World Cup and meet in the group stage. Both sides are fighting to reach the knockouts. On the FIFA ranking, France are the favourite — a 31-place gap.
France - Norway will be played on Wednesday 1st July 2026 at 15:00 ET in MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford (New York/New Jersey). ⏳ Date subject to confirmation.
| France 🇫🇷 | Metric | 🇳🇴 Norway |
|---|---|---|
| #2 | FIFA Ranking | #33 |
| Group I | Group | Group I |
| UEFA | Confederation | UEFA |
| Didier Deschamps | Head coach | Ståle Solbakken |
| 16 | WC appearances | 4 |
| World champion (1998, 2018) | Best WC | Round of 16 (1998) |
France do what France do: reach the last four or better every two years. Since 2018: runners-up, champions, runners-up, semi-finalist at the Euros — a tournament machine that rarely fails. Mbappé is in top form, Dembélé won the 2025 Ballon d'Or, Tchouaméni and Camavinga form the best box-to-box duo in the world. Deschamps' last World Cup as head coach — he wants to leave with gold. The danger zone is Group I: Senegal have Mané and Koulibaly, Norway have Haaland and Ødegaard. No formality. But in the knockouts: a second World Cup title in eight years is realistic.
First World Cup since 1998. With Haaland (City) and Ødegaard (Arsenal), two of the world's best. Solbakken's squad is thinner than those two stars, but in a tournament Haaland alone can decide. Second place in Group I is reachable.
Set your 10 sliders and decide which teams win according to your model — including this group-stage match.
Start predicting →Yes — France and Norway meet in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup (Group I).
On the FIFA world ranking, France (#2) are favoured over Norway (#33). The gap is 31 ranking places.
France: World champion (1998, 2018) (16 World Cup appearances). Norway: Round of 16 (1998) (4 World Cup appearances).
France are coached by Didier Deschamps. Norway are coached by Ståle Solbakken.
France play in Group I. Norway play in Group I.
Last updated: 2026-06-07