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Norway Bench Haaland vs France, Golden Boot Hopes Waver

6/27/2026

Summary

Solbakken benches Haaland

Norway coach Ståle Solbakken will bench Erling Haaland for the match versus France.
Teams have qualified and France leads Group I by +5 to +4, so a draw keeps France first.
Solbakken will rest ten players and start only Fredrik Aursnes.
Haaland’s four goals tie Mbappé and trail Messi’s five, hurting Golden Boot odds.
Ibrahimovic said Norway fear benching Haaland and Solbakken said a squad is essential for the round.

Summary

Haaland Shatters Record

Markets give France a 71% chance, Norway 13%, and a draw 17% to win the finale.
The group winner will meet a third-place finisher from Groups C, D, F, G or H.
Norway returns to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and already has two summer wins.
Erling Haaland broke Jørgen Juve’s 33-goal record with his 34th goal, averaging a goal every 72 minutes.

Summary

Haaland Drives Wins

Norway wins 64.5% of matches with Haaland and only 33.3% without him.
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen scored Norway’s only World Cup goal not by Haaland, against Senegal.
France and Norway have met 16 times, with France holding seven wins, Norway five and four draws.
France averages 38.0 ball progressions per match, the group’s highest, and records an xG of 3.3 while Norway’s xG with Haaland is 2.2, ranking 16th.

Summary

Deschamps Misses

Didier Deschamps will miss France’s match against Norway because he attended his mother’s funeral in France.
Assistant coach Guy Stéphan assumed head-coach duties on Friday, aiming to keep the team’s routine normal.
Defender William Saliba was ruled out of the lineup after missing the pre-match training session with an injury.
The Norway-France game is at 3 p.m. EDT at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with tournament attendance a record 3,605,357 fans.

History

Historical Context

France hosted the 1998 World Cup and won its first title by beating Brazil 3-0 on 12 July, a breakthrough that cemented its football stature. Norway, also in Group A, clinched the runners-up spot with two late goals. Today, both nations echo that 1998 emphasis on squad depth rather than reliance on a single star.

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Solbakken benches Haaland

Norway coach Ståle Solbakken will bench Erling Haaland for the match versus France.
Teams have qualified and France leads Group I by +5 to +4, so a draw keeps France first.
Solbakken will rest ten players and start only Fredrik Aursnes.
Haaland’s four goals tie Mbappé and trail Messi’s five, hurting Golden Boot odds.
Ibrahimovic said Norway fear benching Haaland and Solbakken said a squad is essential for the round.

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