Saliba and Odegaard Lead France and Norway to Knockout Stages

William Saliba and Martin Odegaard both punched their tickets to the FIFA World Cup knockout stages on a wild, weather-torn Monday that ended with two Arsenal men already safely through.

Saliba stands tall in the downpour

In Philadelphia, the rain came sideways and the lightning forced a two-hour half-time delay, but France never lost their edge. Saliba played every minute of a 3-0 win over Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium, looking as composed as the scoreline suggests.

The centre-back stitched France’s build-up together with a pass accuracy of 95%, and chipped in with seven key defensive interventions. In brutal conditions, he barely put a foot wrong.

Up the pitch, Kylian Mbappe did the damage. He struck first in the 14th minute, a clinical finish that settled France into their rhythm before the skies opened. When the teams finally re-emerged after the extended break, Mbappe wasted no time. Nine minutes into the second half he doubled the lead, his brace effectively killing the contest.

Ousmane Dembele added a third to underline the gulf between the sides and cap a professional, ruthless performance.

France now sit top of Group I with six points from two games, edging Norway only on goal difference. The margins are fine, the control is not.

Odegaard pulls the strings as Norway edge five-goal thriller

If France’s win was about authority, Norway’s 3-2 victory over Senegal was about nerve.

Norway led 1-0 at the break, Marcus Pederson having opened the scoring, but the game truly sparked into life after half-time. Odegaard, wearing the armband and dictating the tempo, carved Senegal open early in the second period with a sharp, incisive through ball that sliced the defence apart. Erling Haaland did the rest for 2-0.

Senegal refused to fold. Ismaila Sarr dragged them back into it, pulling one goal back to tilt the momentum and turn the closing stages into a test of composure.

The pressure rose, the spaces opened. Haaland struck again, Sarr answered in kind, and the second half became a shootout between the two forwards. Norway held on, though, and with the final whistle came confirmation: they, too, are into the last 32.

Odegaard and his teammates marked it in suitably Nordic fashion, breaking into a jubilant Norwegian viking row celebration on the pitch, a release of tension after a night that could easily have slipped away from them.

England’s Arsenal contingent up next

Attention now swings to Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions, who face Ghana in a 9pm kick-off. Declan Rice anchors the midfield, with Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze all chasing back-to-back wins and the chance to join Saliba and Odegaard in the knockout rounds.

Two Arsenal leaders are already there. The question now is how many more will follow.