France defeated a heavily rotated Norway 4-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts on June 26 2026 with Ousmane Dembele scoring the second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history in the first half. The much-anticipated Mbappe versus Haaland duel that millions had anticipated never materialised — Norway manager Stale Solbakken rested Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard with qualification already secured. Mbappe started and assisted two of Dembele's goals. France win Group I with a perfect three wins from three. The Golden Boot race is now more unpredictable than at any point in the tournament: Dembele has six goals Messi leads with five from two games and Mbappe adds to his tally. Senegal beat Iraq 5-0 in the Group I curtain-raiser to stay alive in the race for a round of 32 place.
The most anticipated group stage match remaining in the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at 3pm Eastern on Friday June 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts when France face Norway in Group I with both teams already qualified for the round of 32. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland — joint second in the Golden Boot standings with four goals each behind Messi's five — will share a pitch for the first time this tournament. France have won Group I and cannot be displaced as group winners. Norway need only avoid a heavy defeat to confirm second place. The match's individual billing as the Mbappe versus Haaland duel is almost certainly bigger than its strategic significance but for the two players and their supporters this afternoon at Gillette Stadium will feel like something much more than a group stage formality.
The United States men's national team was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 25 in one of the most devastating results in American soccer history when Turkey scored a stoppage-time winner in the final seconds to beat the host nation 3-2. Kaan Ayhan struck in added time to complete a comeback that left 75000 fans in the stadium and millions watching at home in stunned silence. Christian Pulisic came off the bench and set up a goal but the intervention came too late. The defeat in the group stage at a World Cup the United States co-hosted and spent billions to prepare for will be felt in American soccer for years. Turkey advance to the round of 32. The US join the painful list of host nations eliminated before the knockout stage.
The race for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot is being described by analysts as potentially the greatest individual scoring competition in tournament history. Lionel Messi leads with five goals in two games after a hat-trick against Algeria and a brace against Austria — his 17th goal broke Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup record and he now stands alone on 18 career World Cup goals across six tournaments. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are joint second with four goals each. Messi missed a penalty against Austria that would have given him back-to-back hat-tricks. Haaland plays in his first ever World Cup. Ronaldo became the first man to score in six different World Cup tournaments. Just Fontaine's 1958 record of 13 goals in a single tournament looks genuinely vulnerable. The expanded 48-team format means the Golden Boot winner could score more goals than any player in history.
