Norway record at the World Cup: History at FIFA soccer tournament as Erling Haaland bids for 2026 glory
Erling Haaland is yet to grace a World Cup in his prolific, record-breaking career.
All that is set to change in summer 2026, after Norway moved to the brink of sealing a place at the finals heading into the last two rounds of European qualifiers.
Haaland leads a talented generation of Norwegian stars, with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth and Manchester City youngster Oscar Bobb among the options at head coach Stale Solbakken’s disposal.
Here, we take a look back at how they qualified this time and whether or not Norway have been to the World Cup before.
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Have Norway qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
Norway went into the final round of UEFA qualifiers at the top of Group I, boasting a perfect record of six wins from six matches.
Solbakken’s side had an absurd goal difference of +26, with 29 scored and three conceded. It means another win over second-bottom Estonia on November 13 would effectively seal top spot.
Even if Italy beat Moldova as expected, the Azzurri would only be able to finish level on points with Norway if they beat the Scandinavians at San Siro. Only the group winners qualify automatically, with the runners-up moving on to the playoffs.
A 3-0 win over Italy in Oslo in June 2025 was the key victory of the campaign for Norway. Haaland completed the scoring, with all the goals coming in the first half. He has an astonishing tally of 12 goals in six games, including five in the 11-1 win over Moldova.
Norway record at the World Cup: History at FIFA soccer tournament
Norway have played at three previous World Cups. Their best performance is the Round of 16, a stage they have reached twice.
Norway were dismissed at this stage in the 1938 tournament in France, which meant a first-round exit, given this was a straight knockout competition featuring 16 nations. They lost to defending champions and eventual winners Italy.
Coincidentally, Norway’s other last-16 performance came 60 years later and also in France, when they progressed from the group stage thanks to a famous win over Brazil in their final round-robin match. History repeated when Italy beat them 1-0 in the first knockout round.
The Azzurri are a very familiar opponent on this stage for Norway, who were unable to emerge from a group featuring Italy, Mexico and the Republic of Ireland at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Egil Olsen’s side were desperately unlucky to depart as all teams in Group E finished level on four points. Norway beat Mexico 1-0, lost to Italy by the same scoreline and drew 0-0 with Ireland to go out on goals scored. Haaland’s father Alfie was part of the Norway squad at that tournament.
Norway record at the World Cup
YearStage reachedHost nation1930Did not enterUruguay1934Did not enterItaly1938Round of 16France1950Did not enterBrazil1954Did not qualifySwitzerland1958Did not qualifySweden1962Did not qualifyChile1966Did not qualifyEngland1970Did not qualifyMexico1974Did not qualifyWest Germany1978Did not qualifyArgentina1982Did not qualifySpain1986Did not qualifyMexico1990Did not qualifyItaly1994Group stageUnited States1998Round of 16France2002Did not qualifyJapan and South Korea2006Did not qualifyGermany2010Did not qualifySouth Africa2014Did not qualifyBrazil2018Did not qualifyRussia2022Did not qualifyQatar
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