We break down every team, in every group in our World Cup 2026 betting guide. Group I features France, Senegal, Norway and Iraq.
Football betting tips: World Cup
4pts e.w. Kylian Mbappe to be World Cup top scorer at 6/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4)
1pt France/Senegal Dual Forecast 9/4 (bet365, BOYLESports)
1pt Iraq to be lowest scoring team at the World Cup at 10/1 (BOYLESports, Betway)
Fixtures & kick-off times (BST)
June 16: France 20:00 Senegal, Iraq 23:00 Norway; June 22: France 22:00 Iraq; June 23: Norway 01:00 Senegal; June 26: Norway 20:00 France, Senegal 20:00 Iraq.
FRANCE head to the US rightly as one of the favourites (6/1) to win the World Cup, that after 2018 success and 2022 heart-break when finishing runners-up in Qatar on penalties.
Their squad looks as strong as ever, they have a coach who has won this tournament as a player and a manager, and have a lovely blend of youth and experience in their ranks, with very few question marks other than a potentially awkward group.
But, even that is negated by the fact that eight third placed teams qualify, so all France realistically need to do to ensure a knockout berth is beat Iraq. It will take a lot to slow down this France attack, headlined of course by KYLIAN MBAPPÉ.
The pacy forward burst onto the scene in the 2018 World Cup and continued his love for the tournament four years ago in Qatar, scoring eight goals including a hat-trick in the final to almost lead his side to back-to-back titles.
While not a complicated pick, MBAPPE TO BE TOP SCORER (linking to the top scorer article) at the tournament looks an obvious play at 6/1 having waltzed to the award four years ago.
SENEGAL look the best prepared African team heading to the World Cup, and will be looking to build on a last 16 exit in Qatar and a run to the final in AFCON before some of the craziest scenes we've ever seen on a football pitch took place.
For anyone who missed it, they literally refused to play after Morocco were awarded a penalty, halting the game for some 20 minutes or so, and when they came back to play the penalty was saved and Senegal scored a winner.
Since though, they have had that title stripped off them with Morocco subsequently crowned AFCON champions, but those antics aside, it has to be said that Senegal deserve plenty of respect in the US. Their squad is stacked with top players and it looks extremely well balanced, with plenty of quality in the areas of the pitch that matters.
Personally, I rate them higher than Norway, a side who have qualified for their first major tournament in 26 years, with the African's far more used to this kind of football, and in their head-to-head match, I give them the edge.
That makes the prospect of FRANCE/SENEGAL DUAL FORECAST appeal at 9/4, where we basically just need those two to finish as the top two in any order.
It's only 11/4 for the France-Senegal straight forecast, so I'd much rather take the slightly shorter price in case Senegal do to France what they did in 2002 and beat them in their opener. A Papa Bouba Diop winner, remember him?
This Senegal side are capable of matching up with any team on their day given their strength all over the pitch, though perhaps the most important thing at this World Cup is the strength in depth. With five subs available, added time to go into double digits again and the sweltering heat, a deep squad is a huge asset, and that's why I give Senegal the nod.
As mentioned, NORWAY are heading to their first major tournament since Euro 2000, and while they were utterly destructive in qualifying to make it to the US, I have my doubts about their chances.
They should get out of the group but it won't be straight forward, though I have to admit, they could be a team well-suited to knockout football should they get there, with an organised and team-based approach that allows them to hang in games before springing at lightening speed with two top strikers.
It was an approach that worked wonders in qualifying as they won all eight games, though I do want to remind people just how easy their group was, especially with Italy's demise since winning the Euros in 2021. Moldova, Estonia and Israel were the other sides.
That success, and the level of dominance, while impressive doesn't leave me feeling warm and cozy about their chances in the US, especially as 28/1 ninth favourites to lift the trophy! For my money they are a middling European side, like a Switzerland or Türkiye (both 80/1), yet are less than half the price...
The fact Erling Haaland leads the line is probably the main reason for that. The City striker netted a whopping 16 goals in just eight qualifiers, taking his overall tally for Norway to an insane 55 goals in just 49 caps. Again, over that time the schedule has been soft but still, that is a ridiculous strike rate.
He's understandably a best-priced 1/3 to be Norway's top scorer here, so it's a NO BET for Løvene.
IRAQ are the rank outsiders in what is otherwise a very competitive group, and it would be a monumental achievement to see them qualify, hence prices of 3/1 and bigger for that to be the case.
Meanwhile, 'to finish bottom' backers won't be thrilled with quotes of 1/4 either. Iraq will believe they have a fighting chance, especially with Graham Arnold at the helm, the man who guided Australia through a tough group in the 2022 World Cup.
He only took over in May 2024 and the results since have been somewhat astonishing, even if the opponent level hasn't been elite. They won 11 of 18 qualifiers through four different qualifying stages which culminated in them beating South American's Bolivia in FIFA's inter-confederation play-off.
That was an upset, and this defence-first, high-work-rate side could frustrate their more talented opponents at times during this group stage, though the lack of quality in forward areas and barely any depth leaves them with a real uphill battle.
Iraq have scored just 13 goals in 13 competitive games under Arnold, a goal a game, but that stat looks even worst when factoring in the level of opponents. Those 13 games have come against sides with an average FIFA World Ranking of 79.7, and the two times they played sides inside the top 40 they failed to score (Algeria and South Korea).
Unfortunately then for Iraq, they've been lumped in with the best ranked trio among all the groups - France (1), Senegal (14) and Norway (31). So it wouldn't be a surprise to see them fail to find the net at all at the tournament, meaning the 10/1 available for IRAQ LOWEST SCORING TEAM is worth a swing.
Given how poor some of the teams are likely to be at the tournament, it may well be that we end up with a dead-heat here should Iraq indeed fail to score, with Curucao (7/2), Haiti (7/1), Cape Verde (8/1) and Jordan (9/1) all in that mix, but I'd argue all of those sides offer more going forward and Iraq have the toughest trio of opponents.
Odds correct at 14:00 BST (02/06/26)
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 J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
Outright previews
More World Cup content from Sporting Life
- FREE World Cup wallchart
- FREE World Cup sweepstake kit
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- World Cup 2026: All you need to know
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