Erling Haaland has never seen Norway in a World Cup, as the hulking striker was born two years after France ’98 when the Røde, Hvite, Blå beat Brazil in their final group stage match to reach the Round of 16.
Nearly three decades later, the Manchester City star is leading his country back to the tournament as heavy expectations follow. What the 25-year-old Haaland does best — score goals — is what Norway will need in order to make it out of Group I and have a chance in the knockout stage.
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How prolific has Haaland been at finding the back of the net on a consistent basis? Only three players in Europe’s top five leagues have scored more goals than him since 2019-20. His 174 goals is an astounding stat, especially when you consider he’s compiled that total in 199 matches for an 0.87 goals per match rate.
With great goal-scoring ability comes great responsibility. For Haaland, his talents have helped Manchester City win numerous trophies during his time in the Premier League. That success domestically is now expected to transfer over into international play as Norway returns to the biggest stage in soccer for the first time since 1998.
Haaland welcomes the expectations, no matter how high, as he told GQ magazine earlier this year.
“Ever since I made my [international] debut in 2019, my big goal has been to get Norway to a World Cup and Euros,” Haaland said. “It’s a lot of pressure on me but I like the pressure — I would put a lot of pressure on Erling Haaland if I wasn’t Erling Haaland myself.”
Norway has only participated in three previous World Cups. Haaland’s father, Alfie, was part of the 1994 squad that failed to advance out of the group stage. It was the only time he represented his country in the competition. The younger Haaland knows that even with an expanded field, qualification is never guaranteed — just ask Italy.
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Haaland’s embrace of pressure will be under a global microscope with Norway’s draw. They kick off against Iraq at Gillette Stadium before facing Senegal at MetLife Stadium. France is their final group stage opponent. That match could mean the difference between securing a place in the knockout rounds, hoping for a beneficial third-place ranking, or the nightmare scenario of elimination.
Erling Haaland, goal scorer extraordinaire, welcomes the pressure as Norway returns to the World Cup for the first time since 1998
(Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports)
A talent for scoring goals
Haaland’s scoring talent has always been in his makeup as a striker. From his time with Norway’s Bryne academy to making the first team to his moving up the European club ladder from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund to now Manchester City, filling the net has never been an issue.
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As the goals have been delivered, Haaland’s all-around game has formed. Former Norway striker Jan Åge Fjørtoft, who played with Haaland’s father at the 1994 World Cup, has seen the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner grow into a complete player at age 25.
“The Erling Haaland we knew when he was younger was a guy who had an unbelievable smell for goals,” the ESPNFC pundit told Yahoo Sports. “But over the last 7, 8 years he’s always been in development, but that’s what’s impressed the most — the heading, keeping the ball up front, improving with both feet. He’s been in constant development.”
Goal droughts don’t last long with Haaland. His worst funk this past season with Manchester City came during a seven-game span in January. Despite that, Haaland finished with 27 goals, tied for second-most in his four seasons since coming to England.
The entirety of Norway’s 26-man roster has yet to experience high-level European competition. The country’s last World Cup was 28 years ago and they last qualified for the Euros in 2000. It’s not just another tournament. That’s why Åge Fjørtoft believes the most-important part of Haaland’s toolkit that has developed alongside the goal scoring is his leadership qualities — a role he has grown into and embraced.
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“It’s also how he has developed as a human being, which is very important,” Åge Fjørtoft said. “He’s always been very popular in the different dressing rooms he’s been in. … That is a vital part of his development. The physical attributes are all there to see, but the leadership has always been brilliant.”
Unaffected by pressure
Norway faces no guarantees to get out of Group I. They will be favorites against Iraq and the direction of their tournament could hinge on the result against Senegal. The offense will flow through Haaland, but he will be supported by Arsenal‘s Martin Ødegaard and Atlético Madrid‘s Alexander Sørloth.
Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup posed no obstacles for Norway. They went 8-0, which included a pair of wins over Italy, while scoring 37 times and conceding only five. Haaland scored in every match, finishing with a UEFA-best 16 goals, double the amount posted by the likes of England’s Harry Kane, Holland’s Memphis Depay and Austria‘s Marko Arnautović.
Success in qualifying but an inability to make an impact at the Euros and World Cup is something that has followed Norway’s national team. But having players like Haaland, Ødegaard and Sørloth, who are of importance for their clubs, improves their chances of a strong showing this summer.
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“Of course, we will live and die from Erling’s goals. But somehow we’ve got to find a way to be disciplined defensively because the group we are in is not an easy group,” says Åge Fjørtoft. “We just have to make sure that we get enough goals to take us to the next round.”
The pressure is welcomed by Haaland. His rise through European soccer led him to Manchester City, a club that demands success annually, and the the now-departed Pep Guardiola, whom the striker said, “never stopped teaching” and “made greatness feel normal.”
Two Premier League and FA Cup titles, and a Champions League are among the trophies Haaland lifted under Guardiola. There is nothing to show yet internationally, but the hope is there that this current Norway generation can turn into a “golden” one, led by their goal-scoring talisman.
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“If there is one person you can give pressure to it’s Erling because he’s managed to not let that affect him,” Åge Fjørtoft says. “There’s a lot of people calling him a machine. I think it’s more important to call him a human being because a machine can produce, produce, produce.
“He has been very good for Norway. He’s been very proud to play for his national team. He has always given his all, scoring goals for fun, breaking all kinds of records.”
