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Norway World Cup 2026 team guide
Ståle Solbakken leads country to first major tournament in 26 years knowing that, with Erling Haaland up front, anything can happen
By Simen Stamsø-Møller and Vegard BjellandThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.
Ståle Solbakken’s journey to becoming Norway manager arguably started at the 1998 World Cup when he sat as an unused substitute shouting suggestions to the coach, Egil Olsen, when Norway turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory against Brazil. Like his mentor Olsen, Solbakken has never been a naive or particularly romantic manager. He is a product of the northern European football school, where the result always holds the most weight. His style largely consists of tight zonal defending and aggressive attacking play focused on breaking through the lines – football that is as effective as possible.
Norway usually use a 4-3-3 formation, but with significant flexibility. Antonio Nusa, a winger who loves to dribble, tends to maintain width on the left, while full-back Julian Ryerson pushes up as a right winger, making it look more like a 3-5-2. This allows the strikers Erling Haaland and Alexander Sørloth to operate as close to goal as possible. Solbakken has also attempted a flatter 4-4-2 with varying success. The approach is pragmatic in the sense that Norway want to maximise their X-factor players. This is especially found in Haaland’s raw power, as well as the passing ability and vision of the captain, Martin Ødegaard. If space behind the opponent’s defence is available, Haaland will look to exploit it.
Norway: Group I fixtures
Show16 June v Iraq, Boston (6pm local, 11pm BST, 17 June 8am AEST)
22 June v Senegal, New York/New Jersey (8pm local, 23 June 1am BST, 23 June 10am AEST)
26 June v France, Boston (3pm local, 8pm BST, 27 June 5am AEST)
Norway have significantly developed their style of play in the past year. During Euro 2024 qualification, ball-playing defenders were a scarcity in the squad but with the left-footed Torbjørn Heggem alongside Kristoffer Ajer, this area has been improved. It is likely Norway’s three games in the group stage will be vastly different. Expect them to try to dominate against Iraq, play smart and varied against Senegal, and sit deeper against France, relying heavily on counterattacks and set pieces.
Ståle Solbakken was a player for Copenhagen in 2001 when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed during a training session. By the time the ambulance arrived, he had been clinically dead for seven minutes. He woke up in hospital, his football career over. In 24 of the 25 years since his forced retirement, he has been a manager, coaching clubs such as Wolves, Cologne and Copenhagen. In 2020, Solbakken, who won 58 caps for his country, took over the national team. After failing to qualify for the Euros two years ago, he took Norway to their first major tournament since Euro 2000. “I don’t think I’ll have any better nights than this in my life. It’s almost surreal,” Solbakken said after his team topped their qualifying group.
Erling Haaland should prove a scary proposition for defenders at this World Cup. Going up against the Manchester City striker tests your physical and mental stamina. If you give him a time or space, you’ll probably be punished. For 92 years Jørgen Juve held the record for most goals for Norway. His tally of 33 seemed impossible to pass. None of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Tore André Flo or John Carew came close. Then Haaland burst on to the scene, surpassing Juve at the age of 24 when he scored his 34th goal in his 36th appearance. Can a Haaland-inspired Norway shock the football world this summer? When you have Erling Braut Haaland up front, anything is possible.
Antonio Nusa has idolised Neymar throughout his career and there are some similarities between the two. Like the Brazilian great, Christianity is very important to Nusa, while on the pitch the winger is able to elicit a gasp from supporters when he receives the ball and speeds forward. But unlike Neymar, Nusa has never courted controversy. “I always point to God when I score and when I come on to the pitch. I thank God that I can experience this,” he told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten in 2023. Just before the World Cup, Nusa released his own book – a manual for children who dream of becoming top footballers. Not everyone who reads it will become a professional, of course, but if you follow Nusa’s advice, you will at least pick up tips on how to become a good person. The 21-year-old has been with RB Leipzig since 2024.
Sander Berge provides vital balance for Norway behind their talented frontline. The Fulham midfielder offers composure on the ball plus an ability to cover space, which are crucial attributes for Solbakken’s side. His importance was evidenced before a crucial qualifier against Estonia in June 2025, when Berge became a father for the first time. Norway were preparing to play without him but the Norwegian federation intervened to pay for a private plane to take him to Tallinn. Norway won the game, and Berge was one of the best players on the pitch. At the time of writing he has only scored one international goal, and he rarely steals the headlines, but his value to the national team is almost immeasurable.
What to expect from fans at games?
You will hear the chant “Row! Row! Row!” from fans during Norway’s matches, as the supporters row in rhythm in the stands in reference to the Vikings who rowed across the Atlantic to the United States. Norway boast a lively group of supporters travelling to the US for their first World Cup since 1998. The Norwegian federation estimates the number of fans travelling to North America to be between 7,000 and 10,000 for the group stage. Don’t be surprised if you see hundreds of Viking helmets in the streets and the stands.
Relationship with the US/Trump?
“I believe very strongly that Norway controls who gets the Nobel peace prize. I have lost a lot of respect for Norway. I have ended eight wars.” That’s what Donald Trump said earlier this year. Fortunately for Trump, his good friend Gianni Infantino and Fifa created their own peace prize, with Trump announced as the surprise winner. The Norwegian football president, Lise Klaveness, was one of many who voiced their displeasure, saying: “We want to see this prize abolished. We do not believe that it is part of Fifa’s mandate to award such a prize.”
Written by Simen Stamsø-Møller and Vegard Bjelland for TV 2 Norway.
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