When Do Norway Play Senegal? Kick-Off Time, Group I Table and Qualification Scenarios

Norway’s World Cup campaign has already moved past the welcome-back stage.

The 4–1 win over Iraq gave Ståle Solbakken’s team a perfect start in Group I.
Erling Haaland scored twice, Leo Østigård also found the net, and Norway left Foxborough with three points, four goals, and a position that changes the tone before the second match.

Now comes Senegal.

This may already be the match that decides whether Norway can enter the final group game against France with qualification secured.

Norway vs Senegal
Date: Monday, June 22, 2026
Kick-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
Norwegian time: 02:00 CEST, Tuesday, June 23
Venue: New York/New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Group: World Cup Group I

Group I table before Norway vs Senegal

Norway and France both won their opening matches. Norway beat Iraq 4–1, while France beat Senegal 3–1.
Currently, Norway is top of Group I on goal difference, with France also on three points. Senegal and Iraq both enter the second round of matches needing a result.

Group I before the second round of matches:

Norway: 3 points, +3 goal difference
France: 3 points, +2 goal difference
Senegal: 0 points, -2 goal difference
Iraq: 0 points, -3 goal difference

France play Iraq before Norway face Senegal. That match matters because it shapes the pressure around kick-off and the fight for first place. The qualification route itself is simpler: Reuters reports that a Norway win over Senegal would secure a place in the last 32. If France also beat Iraq, Norway would then meet France with first place in Group I directly in play.

Can Norway qualify with a win over Senegal?

Yes. A Norway win over Senegal would secure progress to the last 32.

That is the clean route. Six points from two matches would put Norway through, but the France–Iraq result will still shape what kind of final group match Norway face. If France win earlier in the day, Norway would be playing Senegal with a simple reward in front of them: win, qualify, and then meet France with first place at stake.

A draw would still leave Norway in a useful position, but it would keep Senegal alive and make the final round more tense. Norway would then go into the France match needing to protect their position rather than manage a settled qualification.

A defeat would change the mood quickly. Senegal would move level with Norway on three points, and the group would become a fight around goal difference, third-place ranking, and final-round results. That is the kind of tournament arithmetic every country pretends not to care about until it starts doing calculations after midnight. Norway does not want to pull out the calculator.

Why Senegal are a different test from Iraq

Iraq showed what happens when Norway are allowed to run downhill. Senegal are unlikely to be so generous.

Senegal have more speed, more physical quality, and more threat in transition. Sadio Mané and Nicolas Jackson give them direct running power that Iraq could not offer in the same way. That matters for Norway’s full-backs and centre-backs. If Norway attack with too many players ahead of the ball, Senegal have the pace to punish the spaces behind them.

The main tactical question is not whether Norway can score. With Haaland, Alexander Sørloth, Martin Ødegaard and Antonio Nusa, Norway have enough attacking weapons to hurt almost anyone. The question is whether Norway can control the match while still protecting their defence.

Haaland is the obvious problem for Senegal

Senegal’s defensive decision will be one of the key stories before kick-off.

Reuters reported that Kalidou Koulibaly struggled against Kylian Mbappé in Senegal’s opening defeat to France, and that coach Pape Bouna Thiaw may have to decide whether to trust Koulibaly’s experience or turn to 20-year-old Mamadou Sarr against Haaland.

If Senegal defend deep, Haaland will try to dominate the box. If they defend higher, Norway will look for early passes into the space behind. If Senegal double-mark him, Ødegaard and Sørloth should have room elsewhere.

This is the difficulty Haaland creates. Even when he does not touch the ball often, the entire defensive structure bends around him.

Norway’s final Group I match

After Senegal, Norway finish the group against France on June 26.

France remain the strongest team in the group on paper. That is why the Senegal match matters so much. Norway do not want to enter the final game needing a result against Kylian Mbappé and one of the deepest squads in the tournament.