Mbappe, Haaland and the closest thing this World Cup has to a group of death
The 2026 World Cup was built to make the brutal group a thing of the past. Forty-eight teams, twelve groups of four, and a safety net that lets the eight best third-placed sides into the knockouts means most groups now offer a soft landing. Then you look at Group I, and the old fear comes flooding back.
France, Senegal, Norway and Iraq have been thrown together, and on paper it is the heaviest pool in the tournament. The headline writes itself: Kylian Mbappé against Erling Haaland, two of the planet's most lethal forwards in the same group, separated only by the draw.
France set the standard
Didier Deschamps' side start as the team to beat, and not just here. France are ranked top of the world and arrive as the beaten finalists from 2022, with Mbappé now wearing the armband at what is his third finals. Around him, Deschamps can call on Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, the kind of attacking support most nations would build a whole campaign around.
Mbappé is also chasing history. He goes into the tournament closing in on the all-time World Cup goalscoring record, and a group full of ambitious opponents is exactly the stage a player like him tends to enjoy. France are favourites to win the group, and few would argue.
Norway end a long wait
For Norway, simply being here is the story before a ball is kicked. This is their first World Cup since 1998, a 28-year absence finally over, and they have not come to make up the numbers. Haaland is the most feared striker in the world on his day, and in Martin Ødegaard they have an Arsenal captain to run the game around him.
The questions sit further back, in whether the supporting cast can match the two stars when France and Senegal come calling. But a team with Haaland in it is never a comfortable afternoon, and Norway will fancy second place at least.
Senegal and the Mané farewell
Senegal are the group's quiet danger. Sadio Mané, now 34, has said this will be his final World Cup, and a Senegal side built around their experienced captain carries both pedigree and a point to prove. They have the athletes to trouble anyone and the recent tournament history to back it up.
If there is a team capable of knocking France off top spot or shutting Norway out, it is probably this one. Senegal against the two European heavyweights may well decide which of the three goes home early.
Iraq, back after 40 years
Iraq are the romance of Group I. Their return ends a 40-year absence stretching back to 1986, and under Graham Arnold they have earned their place on merit rather than through the expanded field alone. Nobody is tipping them to advance, but tournaments have a way of rewarding organised, motivated underdogs, and a single result here would be one of the stories of the group stage.
How it might break
The expanded format means three of these four could realistically still be playing in the round of 32, which takes some of the cruelty out of the draw. Even so, the names in this group make it the one neutrals will circle. It opens on June 16 with France against Senegal and closes on June 26 with Norway facing France, and somewhere in between, Mbappé and Haaland will get their afternoon. For a World Cup designed to soften the blow, Group I did not get the memo.
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