Football betting tips: World Cup
1pt Draw at 7/2 (bet365, Paddy Power)
1pt Rayan Cherki 1+ assists at 3/1 (bet365, William Hill)
When the World Cup draw was made in December, this fixture stood out.
It's a little less tantalising now, with the real jeopardy gone after both teams qualified for the knockout stage by winning their opening two games.
All that's left to be decided is who will top Group I.
Only a win will do for Norway, which possibly suits the mindset of a team whose only tactic to mitigate against a weak defence is all out attack. A brand of very obvious, thoroughly entertaining, Erling Haaland-centric football.
France may have their own superstar in Kylian Mbappe, but they aren't quite so one-dimensional.
This is Les Bleus' third and final World Cup under Didier Deschamps, who incidentally will miss this match to attend his mother's funeral, with assistant coach Guy Stephan taking charge.
They also won their first two games at those tournaments. On each occasion it was enough to clinch top spot with a match to spare, providing them with the luxury of resting players in their final game.
The situation isn't much different this time around really. It's nigh on impossible to say if it would be an advantage to top this group, with each path strikingly similar in difficulty.
At the time of writing the group winner's route to the final could be Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and Spain, while the runners-up could have to face the Ivory Coast, Brazil, England and Argentina.
Having reached the final in the last two tournaments by rotating on matchday three, France will surely stick with their method, especially given there is now an additional round of 32.
Four years ago a much-changed XI lost 1-0 to Tunisia while in 2018 they were held to a goalless draw by Denmark.
They possess far greater depth in 2026, but given that a DRAW will see them finish top of Group I, it is something I'm prepared to back at 7/2.
Playing in their first World Cup since 1998 and having beaten Iraq 4-1 and Senegal 3-2 so far, Norway feel more likely to play close to their strongest XI to avoid disrupting momentum - something France clearly don't struggle with.
We really don't know if Stale Solbakken has a bigger picture in mind and would consider resting Haaland, so without any evidence we have to assume he won't.
As for Mbappe, the same arguments were made about how he wouldn't be rested four and eight years ago. At both tournaments he was. In 2022 he won man of the match in France's opening two games and had scored three goals, but still sat on the bench against Tunisia until Deschamps sent for the cavalry in vain just after the hour.
We have already seen changes from Les Bleus, too. In their 3-0 win over Iraq, Lucas Digne, Manu Kone and Bradley Barcola (who scored off the bench against Senegal) replaced Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Desire Doue.
With the game safe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise were taken off for Doue and RAYAN CHERKI, while late on Malo Gusto, Maghnes Akliouche and Marcus Thuram were all given minutes.
Mbappe has understandably taken almost all of the focus from a France perspective, but the impact of Olise at his first major tournament has been seismic, with the Bayern Munich man providing assists for half of the team's six goals.
It would be a huge surprise were he not to be given the night off in Boston, with CHERKI handed the opportunity to start, making his 3/1 price for 1+ ASSISTS appeal.
The midfielder was exceptional for Manchester City this season, registering 15 assists in all competitions at a per 90 average of 0.50.
Against a Norway team who have already conceded three times against far inferior opponents than France, Cherki should get plenty of space to create chances for this team-mates, whoever they turn out to be.
Odds correct 12:35 BST (24/06/26)
More World Cup content from Sporting Life
Group previews
- Group A: Mexico; South Africa; South Korea; Czechia
- Group B: Canada; Bosnia; Qatar; Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil; Morocco; Haiti; Scotland
- Group D: USA; Paraguay; Australia; Turkiye
- Group E: Germany; Curacao; Ivory Coast; Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands; Japan; Sweden; Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium; Egypt; Iran; New Zealand
- Group H: Spain; Cape Verde; Saudi Arabia; Uruguay
- Group I: France; Senegal; Iraq; Norway
- Group J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
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