With just under a fortnight remaining until the biggest global sporting spectacle takes centre stage, head coaches and their FAs are making last minute alterations before they set foot in North America to fight for a chance to lift the ultimate prize in football – The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. 

Keeping that in mind, we at SportsKhabri will be bringing you the complete Group stage preview and analysis of all the teams. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the preview of Group I comprising two-time winners France, African giants Senegal, with Iraq and Norway both making their comebacks. 

FIFA World Cup Group I:  

France (UEFA)

Senegal (CAF)

Iraq (AFC)

Norway (UEFA) 

The Run-In

France 

The #1 ranked nation in the world and arguably the biggest favourites to win this tournament – alongside Spain. Winners from the 2018 edition, and finalists in 2022, Didier Deschamps will once again eye the biggest prize with the plethora of talent at his disposal. 

The 2018 champions had a relatively straightforward qualification campaign – topping their group with five wins and a draw against Iceland that featured a heavily rotated side. 

That said, they played both Brazil and Colombia in March in the United States – beating both quite comprehensively. 

Senegal

The 2021 African Cup of Nations champions will be making their fourth appearance at the FIFA World Cup, after topping their group in the African World Cup Qualification stage. 

That said, this team has been on an upward trajectory, with their recent African Cup of Nations performances to show for it – although the less we talk about the final, the better. 

Since then, they’ve played two friendlies against Peru and Gambia – winning both games comfortably – while they’ll also face Saudi Arabia and the USA in a couple of friendly games before they take the field against France on the 16th. 

Iraq

While many teams played as little as six games to qualify for this tournament, Iraq had to overcome 21 games spread across different rounds and an Inter-Confederation playoff tie against Bolivia to end their 40-year wait for FIFA World Cup qualification. 

Having topped their group in Round 2, Graham Arnold’s side could only finish third in Round 3 – securing progression but missing out on automatic qualification. In Round 4, they finished second on goal difference and had to win a two-legged tie against UAE in Round 5 to qualify for the Inter-Confederation playoff game. 

Iraq beat UAE 3-2 on aggregate before winning 2-1 against Bolivia to secure their spot. 

Norway 

Making a comeback at the World stage 28 years after their last excursion, this current Norway squad will look to make it past the group stages given the serious firepower they possess in front of goal – as witnessed during their free-scoring World Cup qualification campaign. 

Placed in Group I (ironically) during their World Cup qualification campaign, Norway and Erling Haaland ran riot as the Scandinavian nation won all eight games en route to finishing top of the table while scoring a staggering 37 goals in that phase. They beat Italy – their nearest competitors – 3-0 and 4-1 home and away. 

That said, since the turn of the year, they only played twice – losing 2-1 to the Netherlands and drew 0-0 against Switzerland – while they are also scheduled to play both Sweden and Morocco before they kick off their campaign against Iraq. 

How each team stacks up

Didier Deschamps and France have not moved away from their blueprint, while that has called for criticism at times – defeats against Spain in the Euros semifinals and the Nations League final – however, by and large, it has bore him results – dominating world football for the best part of last decade. Although his brand of football might look pragmatic, as history has shown, pragmatism wins you tournaments. Besides, given the wealth of talent at his disposal, he can afford to sit back and wait for his opponents to over-commit and punish their mistakes. 

As for Senegal, much like France, they are a very organised side with players in their frontline who can hurt the opposition on the counter. That said, their talent pool is nowhere near France’s but that doesn’t mean they won’t be a thorn in Norway’s or Iraq’s side. Their physicality and defence on- and off-the-ball makes them a really good side. 

Ranked 57th in the world, Iraq had to endure a lot to get to where they are now. Unlike the Asian World Cup qualifiers, where they opened up against a lot of the teams, against teams like France, Senegal and Norway – especially with the attackers at their disposal – they will be slaughtered from minute one to minute ninety. Thus, it’s very likely we’ll see Graham Arnold’s side sit 11-men in front of the goal and absorb as much pressure as they can. 

The Norwegians making a comeback will want to make an impression – especially with the elite marksman they have in front of goal in the form of Erling Haaland. Given the difficulties they faced against both Netherlands and Switzerland in their recent friendlies, head coach Stale Solbakken will look to prioritise defensive stability with skipper Martin Odegaard’s vision and technical ability crucial to finding Erling Haaland in transition. While they should qualify for the knockouts, any deep knockout run will entirely depend on how solid they can be off the ball – structurally. 

Who makes it out of Group I

As early tournament favourites, France should top this group without breaking a sweat. The real fight will be between Senegal and Norway for the runners-up spot. While Norway have the attacking flair, Senegal have tournament experience and know-how of how to navigate through such difficult groups. Thus, we are giving a slight edge to Senegal with Norway in third and Iraq rounding off the group. 

Prediction: 

France (1st)

Senegal (2nd)

Norway (3rd)

Iraq (4th)