France secured a dominant 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, completing a clean sweep of Group I at the 2026 World Cup. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele scored a hat trick within 32 minutes, while Kylian Mbappe contributed two assists. Desire Doue added a late goal during second-half stoppage time. France’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan was instrumental, saving a penalty and making three key stops to maintain the lead. With the win, France finished the group undefeated (3-0-0) with nine points and will face a third-place team in the round of 32 on June 30 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Norway, having already secured advancement, fielded a heavily rotated side and ended second in the group with a 2-1-0 record and six points. They will meet Ivory Coast on June 30 in Arlington, Texas. Norway’s qualification was assured regardless of Friday’s result.

The tournament’s other notable Group I match saw Senegal overwhelm Iraq 5-0 in Toronto. Pape Gueye, coming off the bench, scored twice on long-range strikes, while Ismaila Sarr netted his third goal of the tournament. Habib Diarra opened the scoring early, and Iliman Ndiaye added a late goal. Senegal finished third in the group with a 1-2-0 record and three points. Despite the loss, Iraq, who played with 10 men after Rebin Sulaka was sent off in the 13th minute, were eliminated after failing to register any points in the group stage.

In Group H action in Zapopan, Mexico, Spain edged Uruguay 1-0 to claim the top spot in the group. Alex Baena scored the only goal in the 42nd minute following a defensive error from Uruguay. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon made two saves to secure the clean sheet. Spain advanced with a 2-0-1 record and will face the second-place team from Group J on July 2 in Inglewood, California. Uruguay finished last in the group with just two points, failing to advance from the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup.

Group G saw Belgium secure the group lead with a 5-1 win over New Zealand in Vancouver. Leandro Trossard scored twice, supported by goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Saelemaekers. Despite Elijah Just’s consolation goal for New Zealand, Belgium’s dominant performance—evidenced by a 34-6 shot advantage—confirmed their place in the knockout rounds with a 1-0-2 record and five points. New Zealand was eliminated with a 0-2-1 record.

Iran and Egypt played to a 1-1 draw in Seattle to close out Group G. Iran appeared to clinch a late victory with a stoppage-time goal by Shoja Khalilzadeh, but the goal was disallowed after a tight offside review. Iran finished third in the group with three points and must await their fate based on third-place rankings. Egypt secured second place on goal differential despite the draw and will face Australia on July 3 in Arlington, Texas.

Cape Verde made history by becoming the first World Cup debutant in 20 years to advance past the group stage after a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia in Houston. The island nation recorded a 0-0-3 record with three points, edging Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to second place in Group H. Their journey will continue against defending champions Argentina next Friday in Miami Gardens. Saudi Arabia’s streak of World Cup eliminations in the group stage extended to six tournaments since their first last-16 appearance in 1994.