Norway World Cup 2026: Haaland can lead the Lovene to history

It's taken 28 years but Norway are back at the World Cup finals. The Scandinavian nation are in an interesting Group I that features two-time champions France, Senegal and Iraq.

The Lovene had a very strong qualifying campaign that has raised some eyebrows and some people are thinking they can go far this summer. Below you will find my Norway World Cup 2026 predictions.

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Goalkeepers: Orjan Haskjold Nyland (Sevilla), Egil Selvik (Watford), Sander Tangvik (Hamburger SV)

Defenders: Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund), Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (Torino), David Moller Wolfe (Wolverhampton), Fredrik Bjorkan (Bodo/Glimt), Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford), Torbjorn Heggem (Bologna), Leo Skiri Ostigard (Genoa), Sondre Langas (Derby County), Henrik Falchener (Viking)

Midfielders: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Sander Berge (Fulham), Fredrik Aursnes (Benfica), Patrick Berg (Bodo/Glimt), Kristian Thorstvedt (Sassuolo), Morten Thorsby (Cremonese), Thelo Aasgaard (Rangers)

Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid), Jorgen Strand Larsen (Crystal Palace), Antonio Nusa (RB Leipzig), Oscar Bobb (Fulham), Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica), Jens Petter Hauge (Bodo/Glimt)

Eight games, eight wins in qualifying for Norway has done enough to give them dark horse status in North America, and I'm on that bandwagon. The Lovene scored an impressive 37 goals in those eight matches, with 16 being provided by their world-class goalscoring talent Erling Haaland.

For years he's been one of the deadliest poachers in Europe at club level, and now the Manchester City striker now has the opportunity to strut his stuff on the world stage.

No other team came close to their tally across the whole of European qualifying, so they can certainly ruffle some feathers in this tournament - in the group stage and beyond.

Haaland is of course the star name on the roster but their forward line is also bolstered with fellow strikers Alexander Sorloth and Jorgen Strand Larsen. So Norway are blessed with three very capable attackers, but of course Haaland is going to be the main man.

Then there is also Martin Odegaard to run the midfield. Injuries have halted his evolution at Arsenal in the past two seasons, so he will be looking to rediscover his mojo with his national team over the coming weeks.

World Cup Odds

Norway's 26-man squad heading to North America looks to have a nice blend of fighters and individuals who can step up in key moments. They play a traditional 4-4-2 that is built around catching out their opponents on the break.

As seen in qualifying, it has delivered great success, so they will be anticipating more joy across the Atlantic. Out of possession it's a team united. No one shies away from defensive duties, making them a really difficult side to break down.

Group I Fixtures:

16 June 6pm local (11pm BST) - vs Iraq (Boston)

22 June 8pm local (23 June 1am BST) - vs Senegal (New York)

26 June 3pm local (8pm BST) - vs France (Boston)

Player to watch: Erling Haaland

Go ahead, say it's the free hit for picking out a star man for Norway but it's for good reason. Haaland is the beacon that Norway will rally to this summer because his goalscoring exploits are going to be the driving force behind the Lovene's journey through the tournament.

You simply cannot ignore 16 goals in eight qualifying games, especially when he found the net in every single fixture. There are several players heading to the World Cup with credentials to potentially win the Golden Boot this summer and Haaland can certainly put himself in the mix on debut.

Football Odds

Prediction: Quarter-finals

Norway are one of my dark horses and you only give a team this label if you think they are capable of going far. For me that typically means reaching the quarter-finals, so I do fancy Stale Solbakken and his players to make it at least this far.

Their qualifying campaign was most impressive and it has fired a warning to all their rivals. They are in a competitive group but I'm confident that they can navigate their way through to the knockout stage, and I do believe that further joy awaits them in the next two rounds.

But once you narrow down to the last eight, Norway's chances of facing one of the big boys grows, and there are a handful of teams that are capable of bursting their bubble.