Norway Football Team 2026 World Cup Preview: Can Haaland And Ødegaard Do Something Magical?
· Yahoo Sports
28 years. That is how long Norway football team have been waiting for this qualification for the FIFA World Cup. It isn’t just some dry, historical statistic; it’s a gaping wound for a football nation that has spent the last few years watching Erling Haaland rewrite the European record books while their national team remained marooned on the outside looking in.
Not this time. Ståle Solbakken’s side breezed through UEFA qualifying with a perfect record. Eight matches, eight wins. That run included a ruthless dismantling of Italy, 3-0 in Oslo and a thumping 4-1 victory at the San Siro. Dominant doesn’t quite cover it.
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This is a squad built differently. Spanning eight European leagues with an average age of just 26.4, there is a distinct Premier League spine giving them real pedigree.
Norway Football Team Squad for 2026:
The Squad: Nyland, Selvik, Tangvik, Ajer, Østigård, Møller-Wolf, Bjørkan, Heggem, Bjørtuft, Falchener, Thorsby, Berg, Berge, Ryerson, Holmgren Pedersen, Thorstvedt, Horn Myhre, Ødegaard, Haaland, Sørloth, Nusa, Bobb, Strand Larsen, Daland, Zachariassen.
Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Norway Football Team:
HARRISON, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 7: Erling Haaland #9 of Norway looks on before the international friendly match against Morocco at Sports Illustrated Stadium on June 7, 2026 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Getty Images)
Everything starts with Haaland. At 25, he arrives at his first major tournament as his country’s all-time top scorer, boasting 55 international goals. 16 of those came in the qualifying campaign alone. Nobody in world football hits harder inside the penalty box. Right behind him is Martin Ødegaard, fresh from captaining Arsenal to their first Premier League title in over two decades. When he is on song, the former Real Madrid wunderkid operate on an entirely different level.
Solbakken has serious depth up front, too. Alexander Sørloth offers a physical, intelligent alternative after prolific spells in La Liga with Real Sociedad, Villarreal, and Atlético Madrid. On the flanks, RB Leipzig’s 20-year-old starlet Antonio Nusa has the raw pace and flair to be the breakout player of the tournament, while Oscar Bobb adds genuine unpredictability.
But the wheels could come off if injuries bite. Ødegaard’s season was plagued by fitness issues, forcing him to miss the March friendlies. Without their skipper, the creative well runs dry instantly. While the rest of the midfield engine room boasts plenty of industry, it desperately lacks top-tier guile. Get exposed there by a heavyweight opponent, and it gets ugly quickly.
Predicted Best XI and Formation:
Solbakken has chopped and changed between a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 recently, but the latter offers much-needed security in the middle of the park.
Best XI (4-3-3): Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Møller-Wolfe; Ødegaard, Berge, Thorstvedt; Sørloth, Haaland, Nusa.
Tournament Prediction:
The fixture list has been kind. An opener against tournament debutants Iraq in Foxborough should yield three points, followed by a tricky but winnable encounter against Senegal at MetLife Stadium. Six points from those two matches make the final group game against Kylian Mbappé’s France a potential dead rubber.
A quarter-final spot is the absolute ceiling for this group. A more realistic punter would back a round-of-16 exit against a traditional European powerhouse like the Netherlands or Germany, but with Haaland leading the line, no manager in the draw will want to face them in the knockouts.