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Norway is back in the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time since 1998, and it took Erling Haaland all of ten second-half minutes to make sure of it.
The 3-2 victory over Senegal on June 22 at MetLife Stadium punched Norway’s ticket to the Round of 32. For a country that has spent nearly three decades watching other nations compete in World Cup elimination games, this one landed with some weight.
Haaland did Haaland things
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen opened the scoring for Norway. Haaland found the net twice, scoring in the 48th and 58th minutes to put Norway in a commanding position.
Senegal pulled goals back to make the scoreline a nervy 3-2, but Norway held on. The result was enough to secure passage out of Group I and into the Round of 32.
For context, Norway’s previous World Cup appearances came in 1938, 1994, and 1998. That 1998 squad managed to reach the knockout round before bowing out. In the 28 years since, Norwegian football has been defined more by heartbreak in qualifying than by any tournament memories worth revisiting.
A qualifying campaign for the history books
Norway didn’t just sneak into this tournament. They steamrolled their way in.
The qualifying campaign produced a perfect record of eight wins from eight matches. Not a draw. Not a loss. Eight for eight.
Even more striking was the goal output. Norway scored 37 goals across those eight qualifying matches, a tournament-high figure that led all competing nations. That’s an average north of four goals per game during qualifying.
The group-stage record they’ve assembled in the 2026 tournament itself represents the best in the nation’s history.
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