World Cup, ambitious Norway with Haaland, Ødegaard, 5 “Italians” and lots of talent

Kjetil Rekdal, veteran of the last two World Cups played by Norway before a 28-year fast, is sure that his national team is worth at least the quarter-finals in this return to the big leagues. “What you say doesn’t make sense,” coach Stale Solbakken replied, in an attempt to reduce pressure and expectations. He didn’t succeed, because from Oslo to the Arctic Circle everyone is convinced that this could really be Norway’s World Cup. It’s not just because it’s the first since 1998, it’s that the stars of the team are two first-rate players like Erling Braut Haaland (also with his mother’s surname, as he has been with the national team for a year now), the goal king of all qualifiers with 16 goals, and Martin Ødegaard, captain of Arsenal, king of the Premier League. They are the tip of the iceberg of a golden generation of Norwegian football, one that earned the World Cup with an average of almost 5 goals per game, as Italy knows well. One that certainly didn’t go to the USA to be an extra, even though the coach is a fireman, with a roster of 26 players full of talent that also includes five acquaintances from Serie A.

why believe it

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Haaland, first of all. As he said during the qualifiers, “if I were a Norwegian fan and Erling Haaland was in my team, I would expect to see him at the World Cup”. He kept the first promise, now he wants to keep the second: to ensure that Norway does not stop immediately, that it goes beyond that group I with France, Senegal and Iraq which for many is the group of death. Few national teams in this World Cup have a center forward with Haaland’s talent and ability to score. And a player who knows how to ignite the enthusiasm of the fans: the first days in the training camp in Greensboro, North Carolina, were a crowd bathed in Erling’s name. The City star, however, is not alone: ​​the one that Norway brings to the 2026 World Cup is truly its golden generation, one that in 2025-26 accumulated more minutes in Europe’s top five leagues than Norwegian players had been able to since 1998-99. This is because in addition to Haaland and Ødegaard there are talents such as Alexander Sorloth, Julian Ryerson, Oscar Bobb, Sander Berge, who especially in attack (37 centers in qualifying, more than anyone in Europe) ensure goals, crosses and passes.

Italians

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In the list of the golden generation with which Norway has convinced itself that it can be the surprise of the World Cup there are also five Italians. The most experienced is Morten Thorsby, a 30-year-old midfielder who has made 170 appearances in Serie A between Sampdoria, Genoa and Cremonese, who, in the second part of the season, tried to help them avoid relegation with 11 appearances. In the starting hierarchy, the starters should be Torbjorn Heffe, the 27-year-old defender who had a good impact in his first season in Bologna, and Kristian Thorstvedt, midfielder at Sassuolo since 2022 with whom he also dropped into Serie B. Among Solbakken’s 26 there are also Leo Skiri Ostigard, who returned to Genoa last season after helping Napoli win the scudetto in 2022-23, and Marcus Pedersen, the youngest Italian in the Norway squad at 25 years old, has been with Torino for two seasons after being brought to Italy by Sassuolo in 2023-24.

the path

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Being in the group with France does not lower Norway’s chances of moving forward, in fact having such a difficult group could be the right motivation to avoid a drop in tension for Haaland and his teammates. Whether or not he reaches the quarter-finals, as many fans in Oslo and the surrounding area dream, obviously depends on his goals, but also on the confirmation that this is truly the golden generation. With all due respect to Solbakken, after 28 years of waiting, with unbeaten qualifications closed in front of Italy and one of the strongest center forwards in the world to guide you, dreaming of doing things big is normal. It will be up to Haaland and his teammates, starting from their debut on June 16th with Iraq, to ​​demonstrate that it is possible.