The Heat Map guides you into Friday with the final, frantic round of group fixtures where reputations count for absolutely nothing and execution is everything.

The undisputed headline act takes place in Boston, where a proper European heavyweight collision sees Norway square off against France. 

Haaland versus Mbappé. The Dark Horses versus The Thoroughbreds.

It’s the box-office showdown the world has been waiting for: Erling Haaland’s brutal physical presence testing itself against the sleek, multi-million-euro tactical machine of Les Bleus. The genuine inside gossip leaking from the French camp suggests there’s a bit of tactical paranoia brewing about how to contain Haaland in transitions, especially with minor fitness updates hinting at a late change in their central defence. Norway know that a historic result here punches their ticket to the promised land, but their thin midfield depth will be under a massive microscope against a French engine room that can suffocate opponents at will. It is a high-stakes, high-octane affair under the Massachusetts sky.

Meanwhile, up the road in Toronto, it’s a completely different kind of battle as Senegal meet Iraq. Both sides are treating this as a pure, do-or-die survival mission. The tactical titbits out of the Senegalese base indicate a return to a raw, high-pressing physical blueprint to completely disrupt Iraq’s disciplined low-block. Iraq have proven to be an incredibly stubborn nut to crack when they pack the defensive third, meaning the African giants will need absolute patience to avoid a frustrating, error-strewn evening that could trigger an early exit.

The safety nets have been completely dismantled, the calculators are out, and the drama is turned up to maximum.

Whatever happens on that pitch, The Heat Map won’t let you down.