England is currently ranked by FIFA as the fourth-best national team in the world.

The country has taken part in 17 World Cups, but has won the tournament only once, in 1966, on home soil. Apart from that victory, its best performance was fourth place, both in 1990 and in 2018.

Norway, meanwhile, is currently ranked by FIFA as the 19th best team in the world. The ‘Vikings’ have taken part in just four editions of the tournament. Prior to this year, their most recent World Cup appearance had been in 1998.

The Nordic nation is now enjoying its best-ever run in the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.

When it comes to the Ballon d'Or, England also has the upper hand.

In Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, four players have already been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’.

Ballon d'Or nominees and winners in England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Harry Kane (nominated in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025)

  2. Jude Bellingham (nominated in 2023, 2024 and 2025)

  3. Bukayo Saka (nominated in 2023 and 2024)

  4. Declan Rice (nominated in 2024 and 2025)

The “Three Lions” squad also features three Kopa Trophy nominees, as well as one previous winner of the award.

Kopa Trophy nominees and winners in England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Jude Bellingham (nominated in 2021, 2022 and 2023, winner in 2023)

  2. Bukayo Saka (nominated in 2021 and 2022)

  3. Kobbie Mainoo (nominated in 2024)

Harry Kane, England’s all-time leading goalscorer with 85 goals, has also received three Gerd Müller Trophy nominations throughout his career. In 2024, he shared the award with French striker Kylian Mbappé.

Nominees and winners of the Gerd Müller Trophy in England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Harry Kane (nominated in 2023, 2024 and 2025, winner in 2024)

As for Norway, two players in the squad for the 2026 World Cup have also previously been nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

Ballon d'Or nominees in Norway’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Erling Haaland (nominated in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025)

  2. Martin Ødegaard (nominated in 2023 and 2024)

Haaland finished second in 2023, behind only Lionel Messi, who won his eighth award.

The Manchester City striker – the Norwegian national team’s all-time leading goalscorer with 62 goals – has also been nominated for and won the Gerd Müller Trophy.

Nominees and winners of the Gerd Müller Trophy in Norway’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Erling Haaland (nominated in 2023 and 2025, winner in 2023)

In the history of the Ballon d'Or, however, England holds an overwhelming lead: since the first edition of the awards in 1956, the country has had more than 13 times the number of players nominated for the award compared to Norway.

In total, England has had 68 different players nominated for the award since 1956, whilst Norway’s list comprises just five names.

England’s dominance at the awards is such that there have been only nine years in the history of the awards in which no English player was nominated: 1959, 1974, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Norway, on the other hand, has gone through 60 editions of the ceremony without a single player being nominated (the most recent being in 2019).

Despite this clear dominance when comparing the two countries, only four English players (and just one in the 21st century) have actually won the award – including the winner of the first Ballon d'Or in 1956, Stanley Matthews.

English players who have won the Ballon d'Or:

  1. Stanley Matthews (winner in 1956)

  2. Bobby Charlton (winner in 1966)

  3. Kevin Keegan (winner in 1978 and 1979)

  4. Michael Owen (winner in 2001)

Although these are the only four English players to have won the award, other English legends have racked up numerous nominations over the years and have become regular fixtures at the ceremony.

English players with the most nominations for the ‘Ballon d'Or’:

  1. David Beckham – 10 nominations

  2. Bobby Charlton – 9 nominations

  3. Wayne Rooney – 8 nominations

  4. Bobby Moore / Harry Kane – 7 nominations

  5. Jimmy Greaves / Peter Shilton / Steven Gerrard – 6 nominations

No Norwegian player has ever won the award, but the country has also had players with multiple nominations at the ceremony.

Norwegian players with the most nominations for the ‘Ballon d'Or’:

  1. Erling Haaland – 5 nominations

  2. Martin Ødegaard / Rune Bratseth – 2 nominations

As can be seen, two of the country’s leading players at this World Cup – Haaland and Ødegaard – are also among the most prominent figures in Norway’s history at the Ballon d'Or.

Looking at the history of the Ballon d'Or, however, England clearly have the upper hand.

But football is a game of surprises.

Who knows what might happen?

We’ll find out soon enough.