I think we all had this one circled when the groups were drawn, all that was left was to see if France and Norway would stumble on the way there. And wait for a lot of rain to move through the Northeast.
They did not, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland each tallied a brace for the second time as France and Norway secured a spot in the knockout rounds with their finale on Friday at Boston Stadium to decide who claims first in the group.
FRANCE 3, IRAQ 0
In the 14th minute, it was Mbappe trying to be the creator as he looked to spring Michael Olise down the right flank only to see the play broken up by the Iraqi defense. Olise stayed with the play and centered it back to Mbappe who strode forward and unleashed an unstoppable left footed shot from distance to beat Ahmed Basil in net.
A long halftime rain delay thanks to some severe thunderstorms in the area, Iraq did the one thing they could not afford to do and that was have a calamitous error in the back. A goal kick across his area was likely intended for a player on the other side of the box, but Basil stabbed at the ball wildly only to see Ousmane Dembele set up Mbappe for an essential tap-in as France double their lead ten minutes after the break.
Jake Catanese
Moments after hitting the side netting, Dembele would seal the match with his first ever World Cup goal in his 20th match and 4th tournament, when he collected an Olise pass at the top of the box and turned and fired into the far corner.
It was a more than respectable effort for Iraq, who suffered through not only a long weather delay but a first half injury to starting striker Aymen Hussein. He was replaced after the first hydration break by Ali Al Hamadi who did manage three of Iraq's four total shots including two from fairly close range but could not put any on target.
NORWAY 3, SENEGAL 2
Soccer matches are often won by individual brilliance and very fine margins. Senegal was on the wrong end of both yesterday.
The Lions of Teranga conceded cheaply just before halftime, when Marcus Pedersen – a 13th minute substitute forced on after an injury to starting fullback Julian Ryerson – collected a loose touch from Kalidou Koulibaly as the defender looked to deny a through ball. Pedersen strode forward and struck a hard shot that Edouard Mendy got a massive piece of moving towards his near post but the ball snuck under him and into the far corner.
Senegal were fortunate not to be down further when Mendy coughed up another lose ball only to be saved by the post as Haaland couldn't finish from a tight angle. Three minutes after the restart however, Haaland would make no mistakes, finishing off a Martin Odegaard led counter attack in the 48th as Norway had a 4v2 breakout from the middle of the field.
Jake Catanese
Ismaila Sarr would provide Senegal a lifeline five minutes later when he hit a sprawling, heavily contested shot up and over Orjan Nyland to make it 2-1 in the 53rd as Senegal's increased urgency was immediately rewarded.
Haaland however would make sure the hopes of a comeback were short lived, as Norway recovered the ball off a broken play at the top of the Senegal box and Patrick Berg got a ball into the middle that Haaland instinctively volleyed home from near the penalty spot.
Senegal would add another vital goal in stoppage time, when Moussa Niakhate crossed in for Nicolas Jackson. Whatever the striker was trying to do probably wasn't the first plan, but he got the ball out from under his feet to find Sarr in the middle of the box with a simple finish to convert.
Sam Lattof
GROUP OVERVIEW
France currently leads Norway by one on goal difference, so all they need is the tie to claim the top spot in the group. That final goal from Senegal could be enormous as they'll likely need a big win over Iraq to erase their -3 GD number to give themselves a fighting chance in the third place standings. Ditto for Iraq who currently have a -6 GD number but a draw in that final match would almost assuredly doom both sides.
UPCOMING MATCHES
Friday, June 26
Match 61: Norway vs. France, 3 p.m. on Fox (Boston)
Match 62: Senegal vs. Iraq, 3 p.m. on FS1 (Toronto)
