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Those hoping for the highly-anticipated Group I decider between France and Norway on Friday, June 26 at Boston Stadium (aka Gillette) to be an epic battle of star forwards Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are in for a bit of letdown.
When Norway announced its starting lineup ahead of the 3 p.m. clash in Foxboro, the starting XI came as a bit of surprise to many, with the Røde, Hvite, Blå electing to not start 10 of 11 starters from its 3-2 win over Senegal on Tuesday, June 26, including Haaland and captain Martin Ødegaard. Midfielder Fredrik Aursnes is the only player in the lineup to get the start against both Senegal and France.

With Norway already securing qualification in the Round of 32, as have Les Bleus, the Røde, Hvite, Blå look to be content with resting their main players for the knockouts rather than fighting for top spot in the group. Haaland and Mbappé, who is starting for France, each have 4 goals so far this tournament, trailing all-time World Cup top scorer Lionel Messi by one in the race for the tournament’s golden boot.
Following the win over Senegal on Tuesday, June 23, the ever-humble Haaland told FOX Sports he didn’t care about beating France as much as he cared the Norway were through to the knockouts for the first time since 1998.

Norway’s Erling Haaland arrives at the stadium before the match.
“(France will) probably beat us and go on and win the whole tournament,” Haaland said.

Haaland still could come on as a substitute, however, as he’s on the bench along with Ødegaard and the other usual starters.
As for Les Bleus, seven of its 11 starters from the 3-0 win over Iraq on on Monday, June 22 return, with the new starters being defenders Theo Hernandez and Maxence Lacroix, midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and forward Désiré Doué.
Manager Didier Deschamps will not be on the touchline, with his duties being fulfilled by his longtime assistant Guy Stéphan. Deschamps returned home to France on Tuesday, June 23 following the passing his mother.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Why is Erling Haaland on the bench against France?
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