World Cup, Day 6: How and what to watch

France and Argentina were the last two teams standing in 2022, with Lionel Messi's Albiceleste coming out on top. Now the two finalists from four years ago kick off their 2026 World Cup campaigns as they aim to return to the ultimate match.

Also, Erling Haaland and Norway get going, but their success may depend on Martin Ødegaard.

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What’s interesting today?

The World Cup resumes today with France taking on Senegal, which probably sends shivers down the back of every Frenchman.

The only other time these two teams have met came when they kicked off the 2002 tournament and France, as reigning champions, were stunned by Senegal in their first-ever World Cup match. Bouba Diop’s goal in Seoul didn’t just earn the Lions of Teranga one of the most famous upsets in the history of the event, it propelled them to an undefeated group stage and a run to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, while Les Bleus became just the second title holder to crash out of the group stage and first to go winless.

Of course, 24 years have passed since then and little is the same. France are still a global powerhouse, having made the last two World Cup finals and won one, but unlike 2002, when Zinedine Zidane was playing with an obvious serious thigh injury, Kylian Mbappé is plenty healthy. He’s also joined by one of the most terrifying group of forwards in the history of the sport, as Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Marcus Thuram and Bradley Barcola play something from second to seventh fiddle for Les Bleus despite all ranking among the best frontmen in the world.

Things are quite different for Senegal too. This is their third consecutive trip to the World Cup and they’ve won matches at each. They’ve also reached the final in three of the last four Africa Cup of Nations, winning one. That’s because they feature players spread all over Europe’s top leagues, like Bayern Munich’s Nico Jackson, Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr and Villarreal’s Pape Gueye.

What really stands out is how sustainable Senegal have become. Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye were all some of the best in the world in their positions and as they aged into their mid-30’s, that could have sunk the program, but along comes Mamdou Sarr, Ibrahim Mbaye, Assano Diao and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, all of whom are 20 years old or younger, and it’s looking less like Senegal are in a golden age of football, and more like they have simply grown into an African powerhouse for the long haul.

If Senegal can repeat their miracle of 2002 with another victory over France, nobody will call it a miracle. An upset, sure, but one well within the realm of possibility. And if it begins yet another run to the knockout stages, the Lions de la Téranga will cease being simply an African powerhouse and instead be a global contender.

Erling Haaland is the sun, the moon and stars for Norway. After all, how could he not be when he’s one of the five best players in the world and a bonafide superstar from a country that has previously made the World Cup a grand total of three times, and not since 1998. The Euros haven’t been any kinder, with Norway having qualified just once.

So when you get a player like Haaland, a 25-year-old who has averaged 38 goals per season since joining Manchester City in 2022 after scoring 40 and 29 goals in his last two years at Borussia Dortmund, it only reasons that he becomes your everything.

But there’s a lot more going on with Norway than just the blonde ponytail sitting on a body chiseled from stone for the express purpose of scoring goals.

Haaland’s fellow forwards Alexander Sørloth and Jørgen Strand Larsen are both proven goalscorers in the Premier League and La Liga, respectively, and almost the entire team is playing in top European leagues.

That includes Martin Ødegaard, who was supposed to be the star of this team when he made his senior international debut at 15 years old and signed for Real Madrid two years later. After plateauing in his late teens, a move to Arsenal at 21 years old restarted his career and put him right back on track to be one of the most creative midfielders in the world.

Now at 27 years old, having established himself as one of the most dangerous players in the world with the ball at his feet and captained the Gunners to the Premier League title, this is his opportunity to put his brilliance on display in a Norway shirt.

Ødegaard will be wearing the armband and he swears he’s fully fit, having trained fully for weeks after struggling through injuries last season. Haaland will be in the spotlight, both in the eyes of the camera and opposing defenses, creating a situation where Ødegaard could regularly find himself with time and space from 20 to 35 yards out. That’s where he wants to live, and where he can be the star that everyone thought he’d have to be for Norway to even make it here.

Finally, it was a strange scene at SoFi Stadium on Monday, where Iran kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 2–2 draw against New Zealand.

It’s no secret that Iran had a difficult path to this World Cup despite qualifying with ease. The United States’ bombing campaign in their country raised tensions and made it seemingly untenable for Team Melli to play a World Cup on the soil of their aggressor. Donald Trump even said he wasn’t sure if they should play and they were only granted limited access to the U.S., forcing them to move their base camp to Mexico, fly in the day before the game and straight back out after. That is for the members that were given visas, because the U.S. refused to issue 11 staff members permission to enter.

So as Team Melli began their tournament as news of an end to the war trickled out, it was a strange scene. And it was also one full of tension because Los Angeles is home to over a half-million Persians, tens of thousands of whom filled the stadium to root for a national team that represents a country whose government the vast majority of them absolutely loathe.

That was the setting for one of the most bizarre environments in World Cup history. The combination of excitement and intensity in the stadium created a tension that was palpable in the early going and wasn’t helped by New Zealand’s early goal.

When Iran equalized, the stadium erupted with exuberance, joy and also relief. The Kiwis re-took the lead, only for Team Melli to equalize a second time and send SoFi Stadium wild again.

In the end, the draw isn’t really helpful for either team. Their paths to the knockout stages likely required a win last night, but the Iranians in the crowd seemed happy enough. After a long, trying six months, the war in Iran might be coming to an end and they got to see their beloved Team Melli score two World Cup goals. They danced and celebrated, waving their Lion and Sun flags.

That is the Lion and Sun flag that was discarded as the country’s symbol after the 1979 Iranian Revolution that installed the current government and is now the symbol of the opposition. That is why the regime objected to it and FIFA went as far as to ban it from stadiums, then went to United States court to defend their right to ban it. They were successful, but only legally because the Lion and Sun flag was all over SoFi Stadium.

Typical FIFA, going to extreme lengths to support an authoritarian regime for no good reason, only for it to not matter in the slightest because the fans won out in the end.