Norway haven't been at a men's World Cup since 1998. They're back now — and they didn't come to make up the numbers.
With Erling Haaland at 25 and in the form of his life, Martin Ødegaard pulling strings in midfield, and a squad that led all of UEFA qualifying in goals scored, this is comfortably the most dangerous Norwegian men's team ever assembled. The question isn't whether they can compete. It's how far they can actually go.
The physical problem they pose
Before you even get to the football, consider the sheer size of this squad. Fourteen of Norway's 26 players stand at least 6-foot-2. Haaland is 6-foot-5. So is Alexander Sørloth. Jørgen Strand Larsen is 6-foot-4. Center-back Kristoffer Ajer checks in at 6-foot-6, and midfielder Sander Berge at 6-foot-5.
Set-piece concession odds for Norway's opponents deserve a second look. Defending corners and free kicks against this squad is going to be a logistical nightmare — and it's not just one aerial threat teams need to account for. It's eleven of them.
Coach Ståle Solbakken has been in charge since 2020, and he's had time to build something with genuine shape and intent. His own story is worth knowing: in March 2001, while training in England as a player, he suffered a heart attack on the pitch. His heart stopped. For almost seven minutes. He was revived, fitted with a pacemaker, and eventually transitioned into coaching. He's spoken openly about how that experience reordered his priorities — he "also knows that there are other, more important things in life than football." That kind of perspective tends to produce measured, clear-headed managers.
Group stage schedule and what to expect
- June 16: Iraq vs. Norway — 6 p.m. (Boston)
- June 22: Norway vs. Senegal — 8 p.m. (New York/New Jersey)
- June 26: Norway vs. France — 3 p.m. (Boston)
Iraq and Senegal are winnable. France is the real test, and it lands at the end of the group stage when Norway will already know what they need. If Haaland is firing by then, that fixture becomes genuinely interesting — not just a formality for Les Bleus.
Solbakken faces a selection headache up front, which is not a bad problem to have. Sørloth has played wider for Norway than he does at Atlético Madrid, drifting inside when right back Julian Ryerson pushes forward. There's real tactical flexibility there, and real depth behind it.
On the Golden Boot market, Haaland is one of the few strikers at this tournament who could realistically end as top scorer regardless of how far his team advances. If Norway make the knockout rounds — and there's a credible path — his goal tally could climb fast.
"When you have Erling Braut Haaland up front, anything is possible," wrote Simen Stamsø-Møller and Vegard Bjelland in The Guardian. That's not hype. That's just arithmetic.
