Picture : Ismaila Sarr (4 goals) becomes Senegal’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, surpassing Papa Bouba Diop (3).
World Cup 2026 Statistics – Day 16 (June 26) – Group I
Norway vs France 1-4 (Group I)
*France have finished at the top of its World Cup group for the fourth consecutive time: one more instance than in all their previous 12 group-stage appearances combined.
*France have won all three of their group matches in a single World Cup for only the second time, following their 1998 campaign.
*France have won their third group-stage match at the major tournaments (World Cup or Euros) for the first time since 2006 (5 draws, 4 losses in 9 such games between 2008 and 2024).
*France have scored 3+ goals in four consecutive World Cup matches for the first time in history.
*France have scored 3+ goals in each of its three group stage matches in the competition for the first time.
*France have scored 10 goals in the 2026 World Cup, marking their highest tally in a World Cup group stage since the 1958 tournament (11 goals).
*Kylian Mbappé became the third player in history to win each of his first three matches as France captain, following:
Robert Jonquet in 1958,
Didier Deschamps in 1998.
*Mbappé provided 2 assists to Ousmane Dembélé in 7th and 20th minutes. It is the first time in the history of the World Cup that a player has provided two assists to the same team-mate within the first 20 minutes of a match.
*Dembelé’s second goal was the 2,900th in World Cup history.
*Two players under contract with the same club scored for France in the same World Cup match (Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé, both at PSG).
This is the first time this has happened since Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet (both at Monaco) against Saudi Arabia on 18 June 1998.
*France have two players with 4+ goals after the three group-stage matches of the 2026 World Cup (Mbappé 4, Dembélé 4).
This is a first for a nation at this stage of the competition since Poland in 1974 (Andrzej Szarmach 5, Grzegorz Lato 4).
*Mike Maignan has become the third France goalkeeper to save a penalty in a World Cup match (excluding shootouts), following:
Alex Thépot, against Carlos Vidal in 1930 vs Chile,
Joel Bats, against Zico in 1986 vs Brazil.
*Didier Deschamps secured his 17th World Cup victory as head coach, breaking the record in the competition’s history (16 held by Helmut Schön).
Sadly, this record came to Deschamps when he had to leave the team temporarily due to a family blow.
*Norway has made 10 changes to their starting XI today compared to the previous match against Senegal (only Aursnes retains his spot).
Only three other national teams have made 10 or 11 changes between consecutive matches at the same World Cup:
Spain, 2006 (vs Tunisia and vs Saudi Arabia) – 11
Belgium, 2018 (vs England and vs Japan) – 10
Brazil, 2022 (vs Cameroon and vs South Korea) – 10
Senegal vs Iraq 5-0 (Group I)
*Senegal are the first ever African team to score five goals in a FIFA World Cup match.
Until today, the record was shared by Algeria (2014 vs South Korea, 4-2) and Morocco (2026 vs Haiti, 4-2) with four.
*Senegal has scored 8 goals at the 2026 World Cup, setting an all-time record for an African team in a group stage match in the competition’s history.
The previous African record was 6 goals, shared by Nigeria (1994), Algeria (2014), and Morocco (2026).
*Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye, and Iliman Ndiaye all scored and assisted for Senegal.
This is the first time a team has had three players do so in a FIFA World Cup match since Germany’s 7-1 victory over Brazil in 2014 (Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, and Thomas Müller).
*Ismaila Sarr (4 goals) becomes Senegal’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, surpassing Papa Bouba Diop (3).
*Pape Gueye becomes the only player in the history of the World Cup to come on as a substitute and record two goals and one assist in a single match.
*Iraq’s Rebin Sulaka was sent off in the 13th minute. It is the 4th earliest sending-off in the history of the World Cup, behind:
José Batista (Uruguay, 1986 vs Scotland) – 1st minute
Carlos Sánchez (Colombia, 2018 vs Japan) – 3rd minute
Giorgio Ferrini (Italy, 1962 vs Chile) – 8th minute