Erling Haaland has been one of the best and most exciting players in club football for almost half a decade now. He rapidly rose to prominence in Germany at Borussia Dortmund before taking the Premier League by storm at Manchester City, where he became the fastest player to score 100 goals and set the record for most goals in a season with his 36 in the 2022-23 campaign. Now, the giant Norwegian is finally getting his World Cup.
That alone makes him one of the central figures of the tournament. He has already won Premier League titles, Champions League matches, Golden Boots, scoring records, and basically every argument about whether he is one of the best finishers alive. But until now, the one thing missing was the global stage that turns a great club player into a true global icon.
Norway’s qualification run was the kind of thing that makes the whole tournament more interesting. They went perfect in UEFA qualifying, and Haaland was the obvious force behind it: 16 goals in eight matches, including two in the 4-1 win over Italy that sent Norway to their first World Cup since 1998. He scored in every qualifier, with that total twice as many as any other player in Europe. That is not just good form. That is a player dragging a long-dormant national team into relevance.
The numbers are almost cartoonish. Transfermarkt lists Haaland at $235.2m, No. 1 in the world by market value, with 49 caps and 55 goals for Norway. He is not a great striker waiting for his national team to figure out how to use him. Norway have already built a system that feeds him, and he has already turned that system into goals at a ridiculous rate.
At this World Cup, Norway are not just “Haaland and hope.” Martin Ødegaard gives them the creative brain. Alexander Sørloth gives them another big forward who can occupy defenders. Antonio Nusa gives them a wide runner with real one-on-one threat. Sander Berge and Patrick Berg give them enough midfield structure to keep the attack from becoming too direct. But all of that ultimately bends toward the same point: can they get Haaland the ball in places where one touch can end the discussion?
That is the frightening part. Haaland does not need a team to dominate possession. He does not need 12 touches in the buildup. He can spend 20 minutes looking almost absent, then make one run across a center back and change the whole match. That makes Norway dangerous against almost anyone, because even a better team can play well for an hour and still find itself behind because Haaland won one race, attacked one cross, or turned one half-chance into a goal.
In a group with France and Senegal, Norway will need Haaland to be at his best to avoid a third place finish and a difficult second round matchup. The France match will be the one everyone circles, with Haaland going head to head with Mbappé, the player he is most directly compared to. The two have become the new Messi and Ronaldo in many ways. However, the Senegal match might be the one that decides Norway’s tournament. France are the favorite to win the group. Iraq are the team Norway have to beat. Senegal are the direct rival for position, and they have the athleticism and defensive experience to make Haaland work for everything. If Haaland scores there, Norway probably move from fun story to legitimate knockout threat.
Norway may not be a true contender in the way France, Spain, England, Brazil, Portugal or Argentina are. Their defense still has to prove it can survive elite opponents, and their depth is not at the same level as the favorites. But no team with Haaland can be treated like a normal underdog. He gives Norway a way to skip steps. He turns a decent chance into a goal, a tight game into a panic, and a country that had not been to a World Cup in 28 years into one nobody will want to draw in the knockouts.
The World Cup has been waiting for Haaland. Now he finally gets to find out what happens when the sport’s biggest stage meets its most ruthless finisher.