Haaland x Mbappé: Norway tries to surprise favorite France in the World Cup

The last round of the group stage of group I of the 2026 World Cup holds a clash between two of the competition's main stars: Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

With France and Norway already qualified for the second phase of the World Cup, the teams will now compete for the lead in the group to guarantee a more favorable trajectory in the knockout stage.

While on the one hand, the powerful French team arrives as one of the main candidates for the title, on the other, Norway is betting on the offensive strength of the Norwegian star who has already scored four goals in the tournament, the same number of goals achieved by Mbappé in this edition.

Days before the clash, Haaland was honest when talking about the duel against France and named his rival as the clear favorite of the match and also of this edition of the World Cup.

"I don't really care. They (French) should probably beat us and they will win the (World Cup) title," said the athlete.

The main name of the French team, Mbappé arrives at the World Cup as the team's great offensive reference and a fundamental piece in the search for another victorious campaign, just like in the 2018 World Cup.

On the other side, Haaland is Norway's main weapon, which returned to the tournament after 28 years, and seeks to reach the more advanced stages of the World Cup.

In Group I of the World Cup, Norway reaches the decisive round with the most efficient attack in the group, scoring seven goals, one more than France (which has the advantage on balance).

The two teams are tied on six points and face off this Friday (26), in a clash that ends their participation in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

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Source: CNN