Overview
After the first two matches, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are both in explosive scoring form.
The Norwegian striker scored a double against Iraq before scoring 2 more goals in the 3-2 victory over Senegal. If he continues to score 2 or more goals against France, Haaland will become the third player in World Cup history to score at least 2 goals in all three of his first appearances, after Guillermo Stabile (Argentina, 1930) and Sandor Kocsis (Hungary, 1954).
On the other side, Mbappe also just completed his second consecutive double in the 3-0 victory over Iraq, the match was interrupted for more than two hours due to bad weather. The French striker currently has 16 goals after 16 matches at the World Cup, equaling Miroslav Klose's record and only two goals behind Lionel Messi's record of 18 goals.
Although both Norway and France have already qualified for the round of 16, this confrontation is still of great significance. The winning team will finish the group stage at the top of Group I and only have to face one of the third-placed teams in the knockout round. The second-placed team is likely to face representatives of Group E such as Ivory Coast or Ecuador.
The French team will not have the direct direction of coach Didier Deschamps after he was allowed by the French Football Federation to return home to attend his mother's funeral. Assistant coach Guy Stephan will take on the role of directing this match.
If they beat Norway, Les Bleus will win all 3 World Cup group stage matches for the second time in history. A similar achievement previously took place at the 1998 World Cup, a tournament where France won the championship right at home.
Meanwhile, Norway has equaled the total number of wins in the previous three World Cups combined. In the victory over Senegal, many Norwegian players had cramps, leaving the team with only 9 players on the field in the final minutes because they had used up their substitutions.
Coach Stale Solbakken confirmed that he will rotate the squad to ensure fitness for key players. Defender Julian Ryerson is still being watched after an injury against Senegal, while Marcus Pedersen is likely to continue to be given opportunities.
On the French side, Malo Gusto has recovered from injury and will compete for the right-back position with Jules Kounde.
Head-to-head record
This will be the 16th encounter in history between Norway and France, and also the first confrontation between the two teams since the friendly match in Paris in May 2014, where Les Bleus won convincingly 4-0.
Recent head-to-head record also does not favor Norway. The Northern European team has only won two out of 10 official matches against France, with the most recent victory being a 2-0 home win in the EURO qualifiers in June 1987.
France is showing superiority every time they face opponents from the same continent. Les Bleus have won all 5 recent matches against European teams, including notable victories against England, Croatia and Belgium.
Score prediction: Norway 2-3 France
The match between Norway and France takes place at 2:00 AM on June 27 (Vietnam time).
