World Cup Picks: Group I Winner Odds, Preview & Prediction

A potential group of death at the 2026 World Cup will see France compete for top spot in Group I against Senegal, Norway, and Iraq. A testing opening round awaits the 2018 world champions, and you can find our Group I picks here.   

World Cup: Group I Winner Odds

Group I World Cup Schedule

Matchday 1

• France vs. Senegal (June 16)
• Iraq vs. Norway (June 16)

Matchday 2

• France vs. Iraq (June 22)
• Norway vs. Senegal (June 22)

Matchday 3

• Norway vs. France (June 26)
• Senegal vs. Iraq (June 26)

World Cup Group I Teams

France

France will be heavily favored in the Group Winner betting for the World Cup, after reaching each of the last two finals. Didier Deschamps will have a high-quality squad at his disposal, including world-class attacking talents in the forms of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise.

Les Blues qualified for the tournament in dominant fashion with five wins in their six matches, scoring an impressive 16 goals. Momentum has continued this year following wins over Brazil and Colombia. One area of minor concern would be the midfield, with N’Golo Kante still a key player.

Senegal

Senegal may be one of the best African chances to go deep in this summer’s World Cup. The nation were excellent at this year’s AFCON, reaching the final, before controversy saw the win handed to Morocco. Pape Thiaw’s team have scored some big wins over the last 12 months, including a statement success against England.

Their excellent defensive record is worth considering after keeping clean sheets in six of their last eight. High-quality attacking talent such as Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr, and Iliman Ndiaye make Senegal one of the most interesting longshots in this year’s World Cup.

Iraq

Graham Arnold will lead Iraq into their second ever World Cup this summer. The nation qualified impressively after winning 13 of their 21 matches. However, a notable trend that is hard to ignore is their poor defensive record, having allowed 14 goals during their qualification campaign.

Iraq will also have questions to answer after a poor run of form, losing two of their last three, and winning just four of their previous eight. Against higher-ranked opposition, the nation will likely struggle on the grandest stage this summer.

Norway

Norway will make their return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 this summer. Stale Solbakken will have a high-quality squad at his disposal, headlined by Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard and Man City superstar Erling Haaland.

The nation were dominant in qualifying, winning all eight of their fixtures, and scoring an eye-watering 37 goals. This year’s results have been more underwhelming, losing against the Netherlands and drawing to Switzerland. Haaland will undeniably be key to their chances after scoring 55 in 49 international appearances.

World Cup Group I Winner Picks

I’m not overly enthused by France’s chances this summer, and I don’t like the fact that they aren’t playing a warm-up game in the U.S. Therefore, the consistently strong Senegal could be set to cause one of the major upsets at the World Cup by topping Group I.