Overview
Norway marked a long-awaited return to the World Cup with a convincing 4-1 victory over Iraq. They will aim to maintain a perfect start when facing Senegal at New York New Jersey.
The performance of Stale Solbakken's team in the opening match was truly impressive. Erling Haaland scored his first goals in his career at the World Cup. Leo Ostigard also put his name on the scoreboard, before Aymen Hussein's own goal in the final minutes closed the jubilant victory for the Northern European representative.
This result helps Norway temporarily rise to the top of Group I, equal points with championship contender France but slightly better in goal difference.
The victory over Iraq also extended Norway's impressive streak of form. Solbakken's team has won all 11 recent official matches, scoring only 50 goals and conceding only 7 times in that period.
Norway's last defeat occurred in October 2024, when they lost to Austria 1-5 in the UEFA Nations League.
The confrontation with Senegal is also of historical significance. In the previous three World Cup appearances, Norway has never won more than one match each time. If they defeat Senegal, they will set a new milestone in the history of participating in the biggest football festival on the planet.
Meanwhile, Senegal had an unsuccessful start when losing to France 1-3 in the first match. Although Ibrahim Mbaye scored a consolation goal in injury time, the African representative still could not avoid defeat against the superior strength of Les Bleus.
However, that goal still has special meaning. At the age of 18 years and 143 days, Mbaye became the youngest African player to score in World Cup history.
After overcoming the challenge considered the most difficult in the group stage, coach Pape Thiaw hopes his players will quickly regain their spirit to continue nurturing hopes of going further.
According to the prediction of Opta supercomputer, Senegal currently has a 56.5% chance of passing the group stage. Meanwhile, Norway is assessed to be almost certain to win a ticket to the next round with a rate of up to 98.6%.
To improve their chances, Senegal must first solve the problems in defense. Especially when ahead of them is a confrontation with a Haaland who is in high form.
Among the 48 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup, only Saudi Arabia has a longer clean sheet streak than Senegal. The African representative has conceded goals in all 12 recent World Cup matches, lasting since their first participation in the tournament in 2002.
That is clearly a worrying sign when Haaland is in impressive scoring form. The Norwegian striker has scored in all 11 recent official matches for the national team and scored 2 or more goals in all 5 recent matches.
Head-to-head record
The match between Norway and Senegal will mark the first time the two teams have faced each other at a World Cup, and also the first confrontation between them after more than 20 years.
The last meeting took place in a friendly match in March 2006, when Senegal won 2-1 against Norway at home in Dakar.
Score prediction: Norway 3-1 Senegal
The match between Norway and Senegal takes place at 7:00 AM on June 23rd (Vietnam time).
