France and Norway boosted their chances of advancing from Group I of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after recording convincing victories in their opening matches on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
At MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Les Bleus secured a 3-1 victory over Senegal. Kylian Mbappé scored a brace in the 66th and 90+6th minutes, while Bradley Barcola added another goal in the 82nd minute. Senegal’s lone goal came from Ibrahim Mbaye in the 90+5th minute.
Meanwhile, Norway cruised to a commanding 4-1 win over Iraq at Boston Stadium.
Manchester City star Erling Haaland marked his FIFA World Cup debut with a brace, scoring in the 29th and 43rd minutes. Norway’s other goals came from Leo Østigård in the 76th minute and an own goal by Iraq’s Aymen Hussein in the 90+6th minute. Hussein had earlier scored Iraq’s only goal in the 39th minute.
With the result, Norway temporarily tops the Group I standings with three points, ahead of second-placed France on goal difference. Senegal and Iraq occupy third and fourth place, respectively.
In the next round of matches, France will face Iraq on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, while Norway will take on Senegal on the same day.
Haaland Shines on World Cup Debut
Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken said Haaland proved that the FIFA World Cup was “not too big” for him after scoring twice in his first appearance at the tournament.
The Manchester City striker has now scored 57 international goals in just 51 appearances for Norway.
“You could see that he adapted to the situation. The occasion was not too big for him. I had a good feeling before the match. I felt quite comfortable that he would deliver for us today,” Solbakken said.
From the Iraqi camp, head coach Graham Arnold expressed his belief that Norway could make a deep run in this year’s World Cup.
He admitted that Iraq paid a heavy price for their mistakes but remained optimistic despite facing two difficult matches against France and Senegal.
Tactical Adjustments Key to France’s Victory
Meanwhile, France head coach Didier Deschamps said positional changes among his players proved decisive in securing the win over Senegal.
“It is a bit of a relief. At first, we were slightly concerned. Changing the positions of Ousmane (Dembélé) and Michael (Olise) made a big difference,” he said.
Deschamps explained that winning the opening match was extremely important and would make France’s path through the remaining Group I fixtures easier.
“It is always important to win the opening match. That is the beauty of football when you can share those emotions. It is only the first game, but we are going to enjoy it,” Deschamps added.
Meanwhile, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy believed his team failed to execute its game plan against France.
“We should have raised our level in the second half and been more clinical in attack. We only managed to do that sporadically,” Mendy said.
