Tournament joint-favourites France get their 2026 World Cup campaign under way in Group I. Naturally, they come into the Group trading as heavy favourites on BETDAQ EXCHANGE WORLD CUP. They are 6.0 to win the tournament Outright, and 1.51 to be Group I Winner. It would be a surprise if France didn’t win the Group to be honest against Norway, Senegal and Iraq. Senegal carry the controversy and the wounded pride of having their Africa Cup of Nations title stripped from them in March following a walk-off protest. What about all the drama around Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid in the last few months – it will be interesting to see do his French teammates support him fully. And for Norway, all eyes are on Erling Haaland of course – he returns to the USA where his father Alfie played for Norway at the 1994 tournament. This Group has plenty of headlines.
Group I
• France
• Norway
• Senegal
• Iraq
🇫🇷 France (🔢 FIFA Ranking: 1st)
France are the number one ranked team in the world by FIFA and joint-favourites to win the entire tournament, alongside Spain – they are trading 6.0 at the time of writing. Obviously everyone remembers how close they went in the last World Cup against Argentina. Didier Deschamps (pictured below) has announced that this will be his final tournament as manager – one of only three men in history to have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager. The squad he has assembled is extraordinary in its attacking depth. Obviously a lot of questions around Kylian Mbappe and what kind of toxic situation he found himself in at Real Madrid towards the end of the season – from a French point of view, surely he arrives into the World Cup with a point to prove and that will no doubt help. Maybe he will even track back! The midfield of N’Golo Kante, Aurelien Tchouameni and Warren Zaire-Emery is one of the best at the tournament. France tick a lot of boxes everywhere to be honest, and it’s no surprise that they are joint-favourites. They should win Group I along the way, and the 1.51 looks a bit of a value in my opinion.
🇳🇴 Norway (🔢 FIFA Ranking: 31st)
Norway are back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and they have arrived in the most emphatic fashion imaginable. Only two teams in UEFA qualifying won every single game – England and Norway. The Norwegians scored an astonishing 37 goals and conceded just five across eight matches, the highest scoring qualifying campaign in European history and to make it even more impressive, they had Italy like their Group – it’s not like they had an exceptionally easy qualifying Group like England did. Their main man is obviously Erling Haaland (pictured below), and he will be the focus point in every game. Alongside Haaland, they have Martin Odegaard the Arsenal captain – Norway’s creative heartbeat, he controls games from midfield. Obviously they are up against it in a Group with France, but outside of that game they should easily beat Senegal and Iraq. The qualifying numbers are very impressive; it’ll be fascinating to see how they perform now.
🇸🇳 Senegal (🔢 FIFA Ranking: 14th)
Senegal are ranked well above Norway in the FIFA World Rankings, but the market tells you what it thinks of them – Norway are 4.1 to win Group I and Senegal are 9.2. Senegal arrive carrying one of the most extraordinary controversies in recent African football history. They were crowned African Cup of Nations champions in January 2026, defeating Morocco in the final – but CAF stripped them of the title in March after ruling that coach Pape Thiaw had committed a serious breach of regulations by leading his players off the pitch for 15 minutes to protest a late penalty awarded to Morocco. Senegal are appealing the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We’ll just have to see how that goes. They have France in the opener on June 16th – they beat France 1-0 in the 2002 World Cup opener – one of the most shocking results in that tournament – and will be determined to do it again. They will certainly be playing with a chip on their shoulder after what happened to them with the African Cup of Nations, but I do feel they lack the quality to make an impact against the big two here.
🇮🇶 Iraq (🔢 FIFA Ranking: 57th)
Iraq’s qualification story is remarkable. They are back at the World Cup for the first time since 1986 – a 40-year absence – and the journey to get here was extraordinary. They had to play 21 qualifying matches across 28 months, navigating AFC qualifying before then entering the inter-confederation playoff in Mexico in late March 2026. With regional airspace closures in the Middle East creating logistical nightmares, FIFA arranged a charter flight to get them to the playoff. They arrived, settled, and beat Bolivia 2-1 in the final. They are massively up against it here. Their coach is Australian Graham Arnold – who previously managed Australia at two World Cups so he has the experience. They have won nine of their last 12 matches across all competitions despite the extraordinary circumstances. Qualifying from Group I as one of the eight best third-placed teams is a realistic ambition if they can take beat Senegal; they are 55.0+ to win the Group!
GROUP I BETTING PREDICTION
Who Will Top Group G And Who Will Qualify From Group I?
France are the odds on favourites to win Group I, trading around 1.51 to top the Group. Norway are their closest challengers at around 4.1, with Senegal at around 9.2 and Iraq at around 55.0+. This will certainly be a Group of two halves in my opinion with France and Norway the two top, and then Senegal and Iraq the bottom two. The plan for Senegal will be to beat Iraq and then nick a draw against one of the top sides – if that doesn’t get them second, it should at least get them into one of the best third place finishers spots.
France should win this Group – the squad depth, the individual quality and Deschamps’ tournament management over 14 years makes them good value at 1.51 in my opinion. As I said above, they just tick every box. Norway will depend on Haaland and Odegaard, and if you can stop them – which France should be able to do – then that really nullifies them. France were world champions in 2002 and were dumped out in the group stage after losing to Senegal in that very first game; I don’t see them starting slowly here and the 1.51 for Group I Winner is a confident choice.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win France Group I Winner at 1.51 with BETDAQ EXCHANGE WORLD CUP
