Saliba and Odegaard Lead France and Norway to Knockout Rounds

William Saliba and Martin Odegaard both booked their places in the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup on a wild, weather-torn Monday that tested patience as much as quality.

Saliba flawless as France cruise in the rain

In Philadelphia, the rain never really stopped. Nor did France.

Saliba played every minute of a 3-0 win over Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium, a night that turned into an endurance test when a vicious storm forced a two-hour half-time delay. The centre-back barely put a foot wrong: seven defensive interventions, 95% pass accuracy, and an air of calm in conditions that swallowed lesser players.

Up front, Kylian Mbappe did the damage. He struck first in the 14th minute, a sharp finish that sliced through the tension and the downpour. Then came the wait. Thunder, lightning, and a dressing room lockdown that could easily have broken the rhythm.

It didn’t. Nine minutes after the restart, Mbappe struck again. Same ruthlessness, same inevitability. Iraq’s resistance snapped. Ousmane Dembele added the third, and from there France simply managed the game, Saliba marshalling the back line with the authority of a defender who knows his side are going deep in this tournament.

The win lifts France to the top of Group I with six points from two games, edging Norway only on goal difference. The margins are tight. The performances are not.

Odegaard pulls the strings as Norway edge five-goal thriller

If France’s win was controlled, Norway’s was chaotic.

Against Senegal, Norway led 1-0 at the break thanks to Marcus Pedersen, but the real incision arrived after half-time. Early in the second period, Martin Odegaard split the defence with an incisive through ball, the kind of pass that looks simple only because he makes it so. Erling Haaland did the rest for 2-0.

That should have settled it. Senegal refused to fold.

Ismaila Sarr dragged them back into the contest, pulling one back to rattle Norwegian nerves. The game opened up, stretched from end to end. Haaland struck again, Sarr answered in kind, and suddenly it was a shootout for a place in the last 32.

Norway held on. They move into the knockouts alongside France, level on points, their attack purring and their captain at the heart of everything. At full-time, Odegaard and his teammates marked the moment with a jubilant Norwegian viking row celebration, a release of tension and a statement of intent.

Group I now has its two heavyweights through. How far they go may depend on whether Odegaard’s vision and Saliba’s composure can carry their nations through the chaos still to come.

England’s stars step into the spotlight

Attention now swings to Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions, who face Ghana in a 9pm kick-off with their own ambitions of momentum and control.

Declan Rice anchors the midfield. Noni Madueke offers directness and flair. Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze bring craft and cutting edge from wide areas. All four are chasing back-to-back wins, the kind of early surge that can shape an entire World Cup campaign.

On a day when Saliba and Odegaard underlined their importance on the biggest stage, England’s leading lights know exactly what standard they have to match.