Group I certainly cannot be described as a group of death, but it could be one of the trickiest at the World Cup.While France should be outright favourites, Norway and Senegal could be set for an intensive battle to emerge out of the group. Iraq, who endured a tough qualification that included taking long routes due to war, should be the whipping boys.FRANCEHaving reached the last final in 2022, losing out to Argentina on penalties, Les Bleus head to North America firm favourites as the No 1-ranked side in the world with an army of superstars in their ranks.They possess a deadly attack led by captain Kylian Mbappé, backed by the prodigious talents of Ousmane Dembélé, Desire Doue and Michael Olise, among others. The experience of Ngolo Kanté and Aurélien Tchouaméni should come in handy for a team who can destroy anyone on their day.France are a side so good it’s difficult to find a single fault, unless complacency and dressing room division creep in to scupper long-serving coach Didier Deschamps’s plans of adding to his 2018 triumph as coach and 1998 title as a player.Fifa ranking: 1Best World Cup finishes: Champions (1998 and 2018)World Cup appearances: 16SENEGALThe second-best ranked African team, Senegal, will be among the sides carrying the continent’s hopes of a second-round qualification. They will back themselves to finish as runners-up behind France from this group.The Lions of Teranga are a solid unit, as evidenced when they won the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) unbeaten in Morocco earlier this year, only for it to be awarded to the hosts via a controversial boardroom decision that is being challenged at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.Senegal’s spirits won’t be dampened, however, and they have a strong squad who have been together for a long time, led by skipper Kalidou Koulibaly and key man Sadio Mané. Coach Pape Thiaw schemed the Afcon success at the start of the year and should be able to get his team competitive in the World Cup.Fifa ranking: 14Best World Cup finishes: Quarterfinals (2002)World Cup appearances: 4IRAQTheir qualification for this World Cup is one of the most inspirational stories of overcoming adversity and huge hurdles. Due to the US’s war on neighbouring Iran, Iraq had challenges fulfilling their play-off against Bolivia in March, as airspace was closed.They came up with alternative travel arrangements, which included long hours of road travel, and somehow they triumphed, securing only their second World Cup appearance.It’s a miracle they are here, and they should be the whipping boys in the group, even though Australian coach Graham Arnold has promised they will be competitive. One of their key players is Sweden-born Amir Al-Ammari, but frankly, Iraq will be lucky to better their record of just one goal from three matches in their only appearance in 1986.Fifa ranking: 54Best World Cup finishes: Group stage (1986)World Cup appearances: 2NORWAYNorway were one of the best performers across the European qualifying phase, winning all eight games and scoring an incredible 37 goals. They have one of the world’s most potent strikers in Erling Haaland, who is fresh from winning another Golden Boot in the English Premiership for Manchester City.In midfield stalwart Martin Ødegaard, they have one of the more dependable senior players who has lifted his first Premiership title as Arsenal skipper, so they won’t be short on confidence. But the World Cup has been foreign terrain for the Norwegians for almost 30 years — this is their first qualification since making the round of 16 in 1998.Coach Ståle Solbakken will expect a battle with Senegal for a place behind favourites France, but, on their day, they can shock anyone — as illustrated by their toppling of Italy in qualification.Fifa ranking: 31Best World Cup finishes: Last 16 (1998)World Cup appearances: 18• TimesLIVE, Sowetan, The Herald, Daily Dispatch and Business Day online are profiling two 2026 WORLD CUP GROUPS every Tuesday until the tournament’s June 11 kickoff. Also catch the STAR PLAYER profile every Friday.