Three previous World Cups — 1938, 1994 and 1998. 2026 is their 4th and their first appearance in 28 years (since France 1998).
The 20-year-old Leipzig winger (b. 2005) who holds the left flank and feeds the giants — pace, trickery and ice in the moments that count. The next thing to come off the Norwegian production line.
The galloping Liverpool full-back with a left foot like a howitzer; Norway's most-capped player.
Overtook Jørgen Juve's record in 2024 (it had stood since 1937) and reached 50 international goals faster than any player in history, beating Harry Kane's mark.
⚠ The most-used eleven in recent matches under Ståle Solbakken (June 2026) — a snapshot of recent form, never a forecast.
| PLAYER | POS | ERA | CAPS | GLS | FILE NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland #9 | FW | 2019– | 50 | 55 | The cyborg striker. Broke a 90-year scoring record before turning 25 and dragged Norway back to the big stage. |
| John Arne Riise #12 | LB | 2000–2013 | 110 | 16 | Record caps and the hardest left foot in the land — free-kicks arrived like artillery. |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjær #20 | FW | 1995–2007 | 67 | 23 | The Baby-faced Assassin — supersub supreme, far deadlier for United than the world ever let him be for Norway. |
| Tore André Flo #11 | FW | 1995–2004 | 76 | 23 | The lanky one who shocked Brazil in '98 — all elbows, angles and impossible touches. |
| Rune Bratseth #5 | CB | 1986–1994 | 60 | 4 | Werder Bremen's elegant sweeper and the calm captain of the 1994 side. |
| Henning Berg #4 | CB | 1992–2004 | 100 | 9 | A centurion centre-back who won league titles in two countries; the quiet bedrock of the golden generation. |
| Kjetil Rekdal #6 | MF | 1987–2000 | 83 | 17 | Stepped up on 89 minutes against Brazil in 1998 and never blinked. A nation held its breath; he did not. |
| Erik Thorstvedt #1 | GK | 1982–1996 | 97 | 0 | Spurs' flapping, fearless 'Erik the Viking' — the gloves behind Norway's 1990s rise. |
| Jørgen Juve #9 | FW | 1928–1937 | 45 | 33 | Norway's top scorer for almost a century — a lawyer, a journalist, and an Olympic bronze winner. |
| Martin Ødegaard #10 | MF | 2014– | 68 | 5 | Capped at 15, a wonderkid who grew into the captain and conductor of the comeback generation. |
For 28 years the Almanac filed Norway under 'so close' — the team that toppled Brazil in '98 and then vanished from the big stage for a generation. Now they return with the planet's most fearsome striker, a captain who conducts Arsenal, and a back catalogue of Drillo-era upsets. No titles, no finals — but a side nobody, least of all Brazil, enjoys drawing.