Kylian Mbappe vs. Erling Haaland in the World Cup is an enormous win for football

Jeremy Beren

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Kylian Mbappe vs. Erling Haaland in the World Cup is an enormous win for football image

Brian Snyder-Reuters via Imagn Images

One of the standout games from the 2026 FIFA World Cup's new 48-team group stage will come from Group I.

On June 26, that group will see a showdown between two-time winners France and a Norway side that is returning to the World Cup after a 28-year absence.

And there promises to be goals in that fixture, with France's Kylian Mbappe squaring off against Norway's Erling Haaland in a rare matchup of two elite strikers playing close to their peaks.

Since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in 2024, Mbappe has become the franchise player at Spanish giants Real Madrid. He has scored 25 goals already this season for Los Blancos, including 16 goals in just 15 games in LaLiga. He scored five times in World Cup qualifying as France easily topped its group.

Haaland last week become the fastest player ever to score 100 goals in England's Premier League. He has scored 15 goals in 14 league games this season, and he notched an incredible 16 goals in eight qualifying matches. Norway won all eight of its qualifying matches and scored 37 goals across those eight games.

This is the matchup that looms over Group I, which also includes Senegal and an as-yet unknown inter-confederation playoff winner. 

Though fans do not yet know whether it will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Or at BMO Field in Toronto, this fixture should be one of the highlights of the World Cup's new 48-team group stage.

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Contributing Writer