Next up in our series of individual World Cup team previews: Norway. The Norwegians play their final pre-tournament friendly at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey this weekend, then face Senegal at MetLife Stadium in their second group game. This post, like all of our World Cup team previews, is free for all to read, but we'd greatly appreciate if you contributed to our site's sustainability by becoming a paid subscriber, or by making a one-time donation.
They've not been to the FIFA World Cup since 1998 but Norway returns in 2026 with big expectations thanks to having the world's most prolific striker up top and plenty of other highly-talented players backing him up.
With Norway you have to start with Erling Haaland, who is fresh off scoring 38 goals in all competitions for Manchester City FC last season, and who scored 16 times in eight UEFA qualifiers to ensure he gets his first taste of the World Cup.
Beyond Haaland, coach Ståle Solbakken has a prime-aged collection of players excelling at some of Europe's top club teams, Man City, but also Arsenal FC, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bodø/Glimt, the list goes on.
They've got size, too, as beyond the 6'5" Haaland, there's also the 6'6" Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford FC, the 6'5" Sander Berge of Fulham FC, and the 6'5" Alexander Sørloth of Atlético Madrid — this team should be an absolute menace to deal with on set pieces. They scored five goals from set pieces in qualifying, and conceded zero, so that could be a strength that separates them in their group.
How far they go in this World Cup might depend on how well they hold up defensively while facing dangerous attacking sides like France, Senegal, and whatever could be waiting in the Round of 32, should they advance. One thing about Norway: They fully leaned into the Viking aesthetic for their team photo taken before departing for the United States and the World Cup.
ELO Rating: 11th
Group I: Norway, France, Senegal, Iraq
Group Schedule
vs Iraq, Tuesday, June 16, Foxborough, Massachusetts, 6:00 pm ET
vs Senegal, Monday, June 22, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 8:00 pm ET
vs France, Friday, June 26, Foxborough, Massachusetts, 3:00 pm ET
At their last World Cup: 1998, Round of 16. Unbeaten in the group stage (1W-2-D-0L) with a win over Brazil, then a loss to Italy in the knockouts.
Record in UEFA qualifying: 8W-0D-0L, +32 goal differential (37 gf/5 ga)
Head Coach: Ståle Solbakken
Record with Norway: 32W-11D-12L, +71 goal differential (124 gf/53 ga)
Preferred formation: 4-4-2, though with 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 possible, if they prefer Erling Haaland as a lone striker
Pre-tournament vibe check
Norway is a popular dark horse pick as a slightly under-the-radar nation that could surprise with a deep run through the knockout rounds. They fell short of qualification for the 2022 World Cup in a group with the Netherlands and Türkiye, but absolutely steamrolled through their qualification group for 2026, soundly defeating Italy twice while also dispatching a few less-heralded European nations in Israel, Estonia, and Moldova.
The biggest boost Norway received heading into this World Cup was Martin Ødegaard, the hugely-influential Arsenal midfielder with 67 previous national-team appearances, ending his club season back in the lineup and healthy. He battled multiple injuries throughout the 2025/26 Premier League campaign and last played for Norway in the September 2025 window of World Cup qualifying, missing from the squad for its last seven matches.
Ødegaard got back into the regular swing of things for Arsenal starting in April, and started and went 65 minutes in Arsenal's last match of the season, their Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
He's been named captain of Norway and heads into this tournament looking to build on the fact that he scored one goal and added seven assists across his last six appearances for his country. Norway adding his creativity to the imposing physicality and finishing of Haaland and Sørloth makes their attack tick, and is what inspires so much hype around this team's potential.
Who to watch
Julian Ryerson, because he's the player most likely to be delivering lethal final passes to the head and feet of the likes of Haaland, Sørloth, or Crystal Palace's Jørgen Strand Larsen.
While Haaland and Ødegaard are the two biggest attacking stars in the team and the ones who will get the most scrutiny, the Norwegian attack is deep and dangerous and benefits greatly from getting Ryerson on the ball in wide areas once he's advanced from his usual right-back position.
Ryerson had 18 assists for Borussia Dortmund in all competitions last season and had one goal and four assists for Norway during their unblemished World Cup qualifying run. He also picked up two assists in Norway's most recent preparatory friendly, a 3-1 win over Sweden, and enters this tournament in form, but also with The Guardian referring to him as a "maverick" and Norway's "closest thing to a loose cannon."
We're focusing here on his creativity, but he's also got a reputation for locking things down defensively against some of Dortmund's most daunting European opponents. If both he and Ødegaard line up on the right side of Norway's formation, as they've done before when in a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2, opposing teams will have to deal with an overload of danger on that flank.
X-factor
Their entrenched starting goalkeeper, Ørjan Nyland, rarely played for his club team this past season, and feels like a player who could make or break Norway at this tournament.
Nyland only appeared in seven matches in all competitions for Sevilla of Spain's LaLiga. He started the first four matches of Sevilla's LaLiga season, then spent the rest of it as the No 2 option behind Odysseas Vlachodimos. The 35-year-old Norwegian keeper doesn't enter the World Cup with tons of recent minutes played, but he's been a fixture for his national team and has 70 caps since making his international debut in 2013.
How the veteran keeper performs in goal against the likes of Kylian Mbappé's France and Sadio Mané's Senegal could be decisive in determining where Norway finishes in Group I. He's definitely the starter: Nyland has been in the Starting XI for 12 of Norway's last 13 matches, with one of his understudies, Watford's Egil Selvik, only given a start in a friendly with Finland in September.
The full 26-player roster
Goalkeepers: Ørjan Nyland (Sevilla), Egil Selvik (Watford FC), Sander Tangvik (HSV)
Defenders: Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford FC), Leo Skiri Østigård (Genoa), David Møller Wolfe (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (Torino), Torbjørn Heggem (Bologna), Fredrik Bjørkan (Bodø/Glimt), Henrik Falchener (Viking), Sondre Langås (Derby County)
Midfielders: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal FC), Sander Berge (Fulham FC), Patrick Berg (Bodø/Glimt), Kristian Thorstvedt (Sassuolo), Morten Thorsby (Cremonese), Thelo Aasgaard (Rangers FC), Andreas Schjelderup (SL Benfica), Jens Petter Hauge (Bodø/Glimt), Fredrik Aursnes (SL Benfica)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City FC), Alexander Sørloth (Atlético Madrid), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Crystal Palace FC), Oscar Bobb (Fulham FC), Antonio Nusa (RB Leipzig)
Our predicted Starting XI
