Norway’s return to the World Cup

Yesterday, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Norway beat Senegal 3–2 in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

The match was thrilling from start to finish, but the star of the night was Erling Haaland, who scored two of Norway’s three goals.

The Manchester City striker had already scored twice in Norway’s opening match of the tournament, a 4–1 rout of Iraq.

With four goals scored so far, Haaland has become Norway’s all-time leading goalscorer at World Cups. All other Norwegian players to have scored in the tournament have managed just one goal, with the exception of Kjetil André Rekdal, who found the net twice.

In total, Norway have now scored 14 goals in 10 matches played across four World Cup tournaments.

The country’s last appearance was almost three decades ago, in 1998. In that tournament, despite being knocked out in the round of 16, the team secured a historic 2–1 victory over Brazil in the group stage – a result made all the more impressive by the fact that it was against the tournament’s most successful side, with five titles to their name.

After a 28-year wait to return to the World Cup, the Norwegians seem to be making the most of their comeback: the team has made a stunning start to the campaign, scoring seven goals in just two matches.

Haaland’s immediate impact

As already mentioned, four of those goals were scored by Haaland – a player who has become virtually synonymous with finding the back of the net.

This was evident in 2023, when he won the Gerd Müller Trophy at the ‘Ballon d’Or’ ceremony, an award given to the top goalscorer of the year. That season, Haaland took the award after scoring 56 goals. Last year, he was nominated again and finished fourth, with 45 goals.

In total, the Norwegian ‘Viking’ has now scored 299 goals in 385 professional appearances.

A historic run with the national team

For the Norwegian national team, his statistics are even more impressive: 59 goals in just 52 matches – in other words, he has scored more goals than he has played matches for his country.

At just 25 years old, Haaland is already the all-time leading goalscorer in the history of the Norwegian national team. He is 26 goals ahead of the runner-up, Jørgen Juve, who scored 33 times in 45 matches, mainly during the 1930s.

Nominated four times for the Ballon d’Or, Haaland has scored in Norway’s last 12 matches and is only the sixth player in history to score more than one goal in each of his first two World Cup matches.

And perhaps the most impressive statistic of all is this: since his international debut in September 2019, no European player has scored more goals for his country than he has.

The young striker is living a dream and taking his nation – and his family – along for the ride. On the back of his shirt is written “Braut Haaland”, a tribute to the surnames of his mother, Gry Marita Braut, and his father, the former footballer Alf-Inge Haaland.

Will he be able to lead Norway to glory?

Titles, at least, are nothing new to him. Despite only joining Manchester City in 2022, Haaland has already established himself as the English club’s star player, with 162 goals in 198 matches and eight trophies to his name, including two Premier League titles and City’s first-ever Champions League trophy.

Ødegaard as the creative linchpin

Another big name in Norway’s squad for the 2026 World Cup is 27-year-old Martin Ødegaard, the national team captain.

The midfielder has been nominated twice for the Ballon d’Or and, this season, has also shone at club level, helping Arsenal win their first Premier League title in over 20 years. In this World Cup, he has already provided two assists and remains the team’s playmaker and main creative force. In total, he has racked up 20 assists in 70 appearances for the Norwegian national team.

Haaland and Ødegaard are two of only five Norwegian players to have ever been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. The others were: Rune Bratseth, in 1992 and 1993; Brent Skammelsrud, in 1997; and Tore André Flo, in 1998. Of all of them, Haaland came closest to winning the award, finishing second in the 2023 edition.

Senegal refuse to give up

At the other end, Senegal fought until the very end but were unable to snatch a draw, despite two goals from striker Ismaïla Sarr. The assist for the first of these came from none other than Sadio Mané.

At 34, the Senegalese legend was nominated for the ‘Ballon d’Or’ in 2022 and, at that same awards ceremony, won the Socrates Award. Although he is the only nominee for the ‘Ballon d’Or’ in Senegal’s current squad, goalkeeper Édouard Mendy was also nominated for the Yashin Trophy that year.

As well as Mané, who led the ‘Lions of Teranga’ to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title in 2021, two other Senegalese players have previously been nominated for the ‘Ballon d’Or’: El Hadji Diouf and Papa Bouba Diop.

Both nominations came in 2002, the year Senegal made their World Cup debut and stunned the world by defeating the reigning champions, France, in their very first match in the tournament’s history.

The 2026 tournament will mark the country’s fourth appearance at a World Cup.

The group situation and the next step

With this victory, Norway shares top spot in Group I with France, the two-time world champions. The two sides face each other on Friday in a clash that will decide who tops the group.

Senegal, meanwhile, go into this decisive round facing a more complicated situation. A good result in their match against Iraq – also on Friday – is their only real chance of keeping their hopes of qualifying for the next round alive.