Norway
Manager: Ståle Solbakken
Back at the World Cup after 28 years away, Norway were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 37 goals and conceding just five as they pipped Italy to top spot in their section. Injuries and individual dips in form, namely from captain Martin Odegaard, are a concern, but other players have come to the fore. Winger Antonio Nusa is excelling for RB Leipzig, displaying an ability to stretch defences and create chances that could bring the best out of star man Erling Haaland. Stale Solbakken functional side is designed to win the ball quickly and feed it to their creative players as quickly as possible. An opening win over Iraq will increase their confidence of progressing but a lack of tournament experience is a concern. A top-two finish has to be the aim because one of the 12 group winners would be waiting for them in the knockouts should they finish third, and that could spell the end of their tournament.