France

Few nations carry the weight of expectation quite like France. Les Bleus have been one of the defining forces of the modern game, lifting the trophy on home soil in the late 1990s and again in Russia in 2018, and pushing all the way to the final as recently as 2022. Across the last three decades they have turned out one golden generation after another, and arriving at a major tournament without France in the conversation for the title has simply stopped being imaginable.

The 2026 World Cup hands them Group I, and it is a draw with far more texture than the seedings suggest. Senegal bring pace, power, and the memory of a famous tournament upset of France from two decades ago that no French supporter has fully forgotten. Norway arrive with a fearless attacking generation ending a long World Cup absence, while Iraq's return to this stage makes them the group's great unknown — exactly the kind of opponent that punishes complacency.

France open against Senegal on 16 Jun 2026, 15:00 local at MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey, then meet Iraq on 22 Jun 2026, 17:00 local at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, before closing the group against Norway on 26 Jun 2026, 15:00 local at Gillette Stadium, Boston. It is a compact East Coast tour, and the finale against Norway could easily decide who tops the group.

Under the expanded 48-team format, the top two in Group I advance to the Round of 32, joined by the eight best third-placed sides across the tournament. That safety net means a slow start is survivable, but France will be chasing first place: winning the group typically means a kinder route through the early knockout rounds, and with their depth of talent, anything less than topping Group I would feel like a stumble.