2026 World Cup: Group I Preview

Group I at the World Cup has the potential to be one of the most entertaining in the entire tournament, made up by one of the favorites to lift the trophy and 2022 finalists in France, one of the current best teams out of Africa in Senegal, a potential dark horse and emerging European power in Norway, and Iraq, making their 2nd World Cup appearance and first since 1986.

The FIFA World Cup is displayed during the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola at Nathan Phillips Square.

Kevin Sousa

North America 2026: Group I Preview

France

France, two-time World Cup Champions, travel to North America as the Number 1 overall-ranked team in FIFA and have to be one of, if not THE, favorites to win it all in 2026. After lifting the trophy in 2018, France nearly went back-to-back in 2022 in Qatar but had their dreams swiped away by Lionel Messi and Argentina in one of the best World Cup Finals in recent memory. Les Bleus will be coming to North America with one goal in mind - standing on the podium while being showered in confetti come the World Cup Final on July 19th. Anything short of that will be a disappointment for fans of the French.

The French punched their ticket to 2026 by cruising through Group D of the final UEFA qualification round, putting together a near-perfect 5W-1D-0L record and outscoring their opponents by a total of 16 Goals For to 4 Goals against.  

Les Bleus are managed by Didier Deschamps, one of the best and most experienced coaches in both the World Cup and International football, with 19 previous World Cup games managed. Before his coaching days, De Champs helped the 1998 team bring the first World Cup back to France as a player, and led the team to their 2nd World Cup in 2018 as France’s manager. Earlier this year, the 57-year-old announced his intent to step down from the French national team following this Summer’s World Cup, making this trip to North America his last hurrah and putting a close to a 14-year run.

France is maybe the most stacked team in the World Cup, boasting top-quality players and impressive depth from the top to the bottom of their roster. Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Aurelien Tchouameni, N'Golo Kante, Adrien Rabiot, William Saliba, Theo Hernandez, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde, Mike Maignan, and the list goes on and on. France has multiple Best XI-quality players and is truly one of the best-equipped squads at this year’s World Cup. 

France will start group play against Senegal, one of the best teams from Africa, and one that will go up against Les Bleus without any fear. The French will then face off against Iraq in matchday 2, which should be a relatively easy 3 points in the bag for Deschamps and his squad, before wrapping up the group in an important match against Erling Haaland and Norway. 

I don’t see any way the French won’t make it through to the knockout round this Summer, but I do think Senegal and Norway will be solid tests for Deschamps’s squad before heading into the knockouts.

France's Kylian Mbappe shoots at goal

Benoit Tessier

Senegal

Senegal comes into the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the 14th-ranked squad in the world and the most recent AFCON champions, if you’re asking for my opinion or ruling on the matter. 2026 will be Senegal’s 3rd straight appearance at the World Cup, and the nation’s 4th trip to the world stage overall.  The Lions of Teranga’s best finish at the World Cup came in the 2002 edition in South Korea, when the Senegalese made it all the way to the Quarterfinals before losing 1-0 to Türkiye.

Senegal breezed through the final stage of World Cup qualifying with an overall record of 7W-3D-0L, outscoring their opponents by a total of 22 Goals For to 3 Goals Against. Not counting the largely debated and controversial African Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco, The Lions of Teranga’s come into the 2026 World Cup having lost just two matches in regulation dating all the way back to July of 2025 -  a 2-0 friendly loss to Brazil, and a 3-2 loss to the United States in one of their last tune-ups before starting their World Cup journey in North America. 

Senegal will be led by head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw this Summer, whose only losses as manager of The Lions of Teranga are the aforementioned to Brazil and the USA.  Pape Bouna Thiaw was part of Senegal’s 2002 World Cup debut squad and took over for former World Cup teammate Aliou Cissé in 2024.

The Lions of Teranga have plenty of firepower in their squad, with players like Nicolas Jackson, Ismaïla Sarr, and Sadio Mané leading the attack.  Pape Gueye and Pape Matar Sarr offer real quality in the midfield, with players like Mamadou Sarr and Kalidou Koulibaly as options in defense. 

Senegal will start their World Cup journey in a tough game against France, where they’ll look for a strong performance to prove to everyone watching that they not only belong but can hang with the best in the World. Matchday 2 brings another tough test, Senegal, where they’ll face off against Norway in New Jersey, before Senegal finishes off group play, looking to take 3 points from Iraq. 

Senegal has a decent chance at finishing 2nd in Group I, but even if they finish 3rd, there’s a decent chance they’ll still finish as one of the 8-best 3rd-place teams, punching their ticket to the Knockout round regardless.  The Summer of 2026 is Senegal’s chance to prove they’re not just one of the best teams from Africa, but one of the best in the entire World. 

Senegal's Nicolas Jackson in action with Egypt's Yasser Ibrahim

Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Norway

Norway will enter the 2026 World Cup as a potential dark horse for many football fans, making their first appearance in the tournament since 1998 and their 4th overall.  Currently ranked 31st in FIFA's rankings, Norway’s best World Cup run was in the 1984 edition, when they reached the Quarterfinals. This time around, Norway feels it can shake things up in North America once again with its top-league-tested options in midfield and attack, led by the world's best striker. 

Norway punched their ticket to the World Cup by going unbeaten in Group I of UEFA qualifications, with an 8W-0D-0L record and outscoring their opponents by a staggering 37 Goals For to 5 Goals Against, a +32 goal differential led by 16 Erling Haaland tallies. Norway beat Italy twice on their way to automatic qualification, leaving the door open for Bosnia and Herzegovina to knock off the Italians in the UEFA playoffs and secure their spot in the World Cup, leaving the Italians home for the 3rd consecutive tournament.

Norway is led by Head Coach Stale Solbakken, who took over for Lars Lagerback back in December of 2020. Solbakken, who represented Norway as a player at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 UEFA Euros, has helped lead his home nation to becoming one of the best emerging talents across Europe, and hopes the 2026 World Cup will be the perfect platform to prove they are one of the best in the entire world. 

Norway’s star man is Erling Haaland, the best goal scorer in the whole sport at the moment. But Norway isn’t a one-man show, with exciting talent like Atlético Madrid’s Alexander Sørloth and RB Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa complementing the Man City striker in attack, and Fulham’s Sander Berge and Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard pulling the strings in the midfield. Defensively, Norway will lean on Brentford’s Kristoffer Ajer to keep other teams at bay, while Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson will look to get up the pitch and help the attack from the Right Back position. 

Norway’s start to the World Cup will come against Iraq, their biggest chance at claiming all 3 points in the group stage.  They’ll then move on to face off against Senegal, which should be an absolute battle for who takes who's points in Matchday 2, before finishing up the group stage against France, where they’ll look to prove their belonging against the World’s best. 

Norway certainly has a shot at the 2 seed in Group I, but should advance to the knockout stage regardless, given it finished among the 8 best 3rd-place teams in the World Cup. 

Norway's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal.

Ints Kalnins

Iraq

Iraq is traveling to North America to compete in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986 and just the 2nd time overall, breaking a 40-year drought for the Lions of Mesopotamia.  They’ll enter the World Cup as the 57th-ranked team in FIFA’s hierarchy, and will be looking for not just their first win on the World Cup stage, but their first point in the competition as well. 

Iraq has had a long road to the World Cup, going unbeaten through the second round of Asian qualifications before finishing 3rd in the third stage and 2nd in the 4th, setting up a 2-legged 5th-round qualification against the United Arab Emirates.  Iraq defeated the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate, earning them a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs, where they beat Bolivia 3-1 to officially punch their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. 

Iraq is led by head coach Graham Arnold, who was appointed as the manager of the Lions of Mesopotamia in May of 2025. Since then, Arnold’s promise to make Iraq fans proud has come true, earning them a spot in the FIFA World Cup, where he will act as head coach of a World Cup squad for the 2nd time after leading his native country of Australia to the big stage in 2022.

Iraq isn’t a team made up of flashy names that casuals will recognize, but their hard work and determination under Arnold make up for it. Players that could make an impact for Iraq are Ipswich Town’s Ali Al-Hamadi and midfielders Amir Al-Ammari, Zidane Iqbal, and Ali Jasim. Fans of MLS will recognize midfielder Ahmed Qasem of Nashville SC, who switched his international allegiance to Iraq from Sweden just before the start of the World Cup. 

We’ve got to be honest here, Iraq is going to have an extremely tough time getting anything out of this group.  For everyone else in Group I, Iraq is the match circled on the calendar as the easy one to get points from.  But Iraq isn't going to come to the States without putting up a fight, and even just a point at this year’s World Cup will be seen as success for the Lions of Mesopotamia, and could end up affecting how the rest of the playing field ultimately plays out. Who knows, maybe we'll see a World Cup upset, all because Iraq was able to take a single point off someone in the group stage.

Iraq's Ali Jasim in action.

Mohammed Salem

Matchday 1: 

Matchday 2: 

Matchday 3: 

For more reading on the World Cup, check out our other previews:

Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D

Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H

Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L