Group I

In some ways, yes. Italy missed the 2018 and 2022 World Cups through playoff failures. Returning to the biggest stage is a statement — and facing Croatia (who eliminated them at Euro 2024) adds narrative tension.

Almost certainly. At 40, Modric would be one of the oldest outfield players in World Cup history. His legacy is already secured: Ballon d'Or winner, Champions League legend, and Croatia's all-time greatest player.

Italy lost playoff matches to Sweden (2017) and North Macedonia (2022) — both stunning upsets. The failures exposed a generational talent gap that the FIGC has worked aggressively to address.

The 2022 performance (3 losses, 0 goals) was the worst by a host nation in World Cup history. Qualifying through competitive AFC matches rather than automatic entry has hardened the squad. Improvement is expected, but advancing from this group is unlikely.

The Italian-American community is one of the largest diaspora groups in the US. New York (Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, Mulberry Street in Little Italy), Philadelphia, and Boston all have deep Italian roots. Expect massive support.

Three factors: an exceptional academy system that produces technically gifted midfielders, a national football culture that prioritizes intelligence over physicality, and a remarkable collective mentality that compensates for a small population.

With 12 groups of four teams, the top two qualify plus eight best third-placed teams. Italy essentially needs 4+ points to guarantee progression. The expanded format makes group-stage elimination less likely for teams of Italy's quality.

Italy's patient build-up vs. Croatia's midfield control is the centerpiece. Both teams play through the middle, making central midfield the battleground. The team that controls possession in the final third will win.

Group I is France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway.

All group-stage games for Group I fall between June 11 and June 26, 2026, across three matchdays—see the table below for ET kickoffs.

Fixtures rotate through the FIFA host cities shown beside each match row below—not every game uses the same stadium.

Favorites shift with form, but the highest FIFA ranking or strongest recent tournament team in this quartet usually opens as the betting front-row—compare all four team cards on this page.

Two teams go through automatically as top two finishers, and the third-place side can still qualify if it lands inside the eight best thirds overall.

Each nation plays three group games (home/away-balanced draw), earning three points for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss.

FIFA applies tiebreakers in order: goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head among tied teams, fair play, then a random draw.

Group I finishes on FIFA’s final group round when both remaining games kick off at the same time—dates and ET times are in the schedule grid.