France v Norway Betting Markets
According to the betting odds, France have a roughly 65% chance of landing a victory at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Friday night. Didier Deschamps' side are now the outright favourites to be champions of the world and their pedigree is excellent. Eight years ago in Russia, Les Bleus landed their second World Cup when beating Croatia in the final after demonstrating themselves to be the strongest side on the planet.
Four and a half years later, the French navigated their way through to the final before clashing with Argentina and coming back from the dead only to lose on penalty kicks. However, it might be worth treading with caution when it comes to this clash. There's no need for France to win the game and Deschamps may be experimental with his team selection.
Norway need to win the game in order to finish top of Group I. The team finishing top will be guaranteed a last 32 game against a third-placed side from another section before a likely last sixteen tussle against Germany. As for the runner-up of the group, they will meet the Ivory Coast in a winnable last 32 encounter before meeting the winner of Brazil v Japan.
The Nordic side certainly look capable of what might be deemed a shock win. They are full of goals in the tournament and might relish their role as underdog. We know that Erling Haaland is one of the best forwards on the planet and he will be flanked by Martin Odegaard who captained Arsenal to an English Premier League title success last season.
However, we think the draw represents the best value of all. France will know how to manage this game to ensure top spot and we can therefore see this game being played at a slow tempo. Perhaps both Mbappe and Haaland will be absent from proceedings as they're wrapped in cotton wool by managers ahead of sterner assignments.
Goals Under/Over
There's a 66% chance of Over 2.5 Goals being scored according to the bookmaker odds. That has been the outcome in all of France and Norway's World Cup games played so far. In fact, the two sides have covered the 2.5 goal line themselves on both occasions.
Both of Norway's games to date have seen five goals scored. That brings Over 3.5 Goals and Over 4.5 Goals into sharper focus. We know that Solbakken's side are quite attack-minded and there doesn't seem to be much chance of clean sheets being kept.
However, the nature of the game means that perhaps we won't see a huge number of goals. France will be happy to try and keep the ball in order to stop Haaland in his tracks. The draw would suit Les Bleus and they might not be too eager to get forward in search of goals.
BTTS
The BTTS Yes odds are 1.61 which suggests there's a reasonable chance of both sides finding the net. The results from the Group I fixtures so far indicates that both teams are going to score, although there's not a great deal of jeopardy. Realistically, this is the last chance for Deschamps and Solbakken to rest players.
We know France has a lot of depth in terms of attacking players which could mean Kylian Mbappe is given a breather, with lots of other forwards capable of causing problems for the Norwegian defence. We know that Norway are stronger in attack than they are defensively and the fact that Iraq and Senegal have scored a combined three goals against them indicates that a clean sheet is unlikely.
If you're in the camp that Les Bleus are going to win this game, then you can combine it with BTTS Yes for an odds-against quote. France won't be too bothered about keeping a clean sheet as long as they have their noses in front of Norway all the way through. It wouldn't be a big surprise if they landed a 2-1 or 3-2 success.
First Goalscorer
Will this be the battle of the big guns? Kylian Mbappe has scored consecutive braces in the World Cup so far and it will be interesting to see whether the France captain commands a place in the starting lineup. We know that this lightning-quick forward can make short work of any defence and especially a Norway rearguard where Sander Berge aims to protect Kristoffer Ajer and Torbjorn Heggem.
The 4-3-3 formation deployed by the Norwegians could certainly leave them open to the French attack, with Ousmane Dembele having been on target against Iraq and there's also the prospect of Bradley Barcola adding to the goal that he scored against Senegal.
Erling Haaland opened his World Cup account with a couple of goals against Iraq and then followed this up with another brace against Senegal. The Manchester City man will now be determined to outscore his opposite number and is more likely to be selected than the Real Madrid star.
Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa are going to be offering support to Haaland and the former could well get on the scoresheet here, with the Atletico Madrid forward having scored 33 goals across 70 appearances for his club team.