Norway announced its squad for the 2026 World Cup: Haaland and Ødegaard lead Ståle Solbakken's 26 players
The Norwegian Football Federation has announced the list of 26 players selected by head coach Ståle Solbakken for the 2026 World Cup, with the main names, as expected, being Manchester City striker Erling Braut Haaland and Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard. According to the announcement by the Norwegian Football Federation, the team was presented on May 21, 2026, at Grue IL's facility in Kirkenær, the childhood club of Solbakken and his assistant Kent Bergersen. The head coach said that Norway has a “strike team” that has achieved major results over a longer period, but at the same time he emphasized that selection for the World Cup is always painful because some players must remain outside the final list.
The list marks an important moment for Norwegian football because the national team is returning to the world stage for the first time since the 1998 World Cup in France. FIFA, in its preview of the Norwegian national team, states that Norway will compete in Group I, which also includes France, Senegal and Iraq. According to FIFA's official schedule, Norway opens the tournament against Iraq in Boston, then plays against Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium, and concludes the group stage against France, again in Boston. Although the Norwegian Football Federation has announced the final national selection, FIFA notes that all lists are considered provisional until the official submission and confirmation of the final squads for the tournament.
Return after 28 years and a generation with great expectations
Norway returns to the World Cup after a long break, and precisely the period without appearances at the biggest tournament has further increased interest in this generation. According to UEFA data from qualifying Group I, Norway finished the qualifiers with eight wins in eight matches, a goal difference of 37:5 and 24 points, ahead of Italy, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. Such a performance gives Solbakken's team a solid sporting foundation ahead of the tournament, especially because the national team went through qualifying unbeaten and with an extremely convincing attacking output.
The greatest attention will be focused on Haaland, who, according to FIFA, scored 16 goals in qualifying and thereby equalled Robert Lewandowski's record performance from the European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. FIFA also states that Haaland became the first player in the history of European qualifiers to score in every match for his national team when he played more than six matches in the cycle. Alongside him, Alexander Sørloth, the Atlético de Madrid striker, has an important role in attack, while Ødegaard represents the key creative point of the midfield and one of the most important figures in the dressing room.
Solbakken: The selection is the result of long discussions
According to the announcement by the Norwegian Football Federation, after presenting the list Solbakken said that the coaching staff had held numerous discussions, both joint and individual, before the final decision. He emphasized that the team had already proven its value, among other things by Norway's promotion to a higher competitive tier of the Nations League and by going through qualifying unbeaten. At the same time, he warned that “football is fresh produce”, thereby making it clear that form, health status and tactical balance remain just as important as the reputation of individual players.
Solbakken's selection shows a clear intention to keep the core that carried the qualifiers, but also to create space for players who can bring speed, energy and depth. The list includes three goalkeepers, a larger number of defenders with experience in Europe's strongest leagues, a strong midfield and an attacking department led by Haaland, Sørloth and Jørgen Strand Larsen. Norway does not enter the tournament as one of the main favourites, but because of its qualifying form and the quality of its key players it will be a team that opponents will not be allowed to underestimate.
List of players for the World Cup
According to the list of the Norwegian Football Federation, the goalkeepers are Ørjan Håskjold Nyland from Sevilla, Egil Selvik from Watford and Sander Tangvik from Hamburger SV. Nyland is the most experienced goalkeeper in the group and, according to the statistics published by the federation, at the time the list was announced he had 69 appearances for the national team. Selvik has six appearances, while Tangvik was included without a previous senior appearance, making him one of the more interesting choices on the list. His inclusion shows that the staff wanted to secure an additional goalkeeping option for a tournament that lasts a long time and is played in several locations.
In defence are Kristoffer Vassbakk Köpp Ajer from Brentford, Leo Skiri Østigård from Genoa, David Møller Wolfe from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fredrik André Bjørkan from Bodø/Glimt, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen from Torino, Torbjørn Lysaker Heggem from Bologna, Sondre Klingen Langås from Derby County, Henrik Sælebakke Falchener from Viking and Julian Ryerson from Borussia Dortmund. Ryerson and Ajer bring experience from strong leagues, while Østigård and Heggem are important for solidity in the centre of defence. The inclusion of Langås and Falchener provides additional depth in the back line, while Bjørkan and Møller Wolfe offer solutions on the left side.
The midfield is led by Martin Ødegaard, Sander Berge and Fredrik Aursnes, and also includes Patrick Berg, Morten Thorsby, Kristian Thorstvedt, Thelonious Aasgaard, Antonio Nusa, Andreas Schjelderup, Oscar Bobb and Jens Petter Hauge. According to federation data, Ødegaard had 67 appearances for the national team at the time of the announcement, Berge 64, Berg 41 and Thorsby 30. Nusa, Schjelderup and Bobb represent the younger, technically potent part of the team, while Aursnes, Berg and Thorsby provide stability in phases when Norway must close space and control the rhythm of the match. Aasgaard entered the list with five goals in six appearances, which according to the published figures shows his high efficiency in the national-team shirt.
The attack consists of Erling Braut Haaland, Alexander Sørloth and Jørgen Strand Larsen. According to official data from the Norwegian Football Federation, at the time the list was announced Haaland had 55 goals in 49 appearances for the national team, which further explains why Norway's play will be strongly marked by his presence in the penalty area. Sørloth at the same moment had 70 appearances and 26 goals, and Strand Larsen 26 appearances and four goals. Such a selection gives Solbakken the possibility of playing with one out-and-out striker, but also variants in which the physical presence in the final third of the pitch can be increased.
Group I brings different challenges
FIFA's schedule places Norway in Group I with Iraq, Senegal and France. The first match against Iraq is played on June 16 local time in Boston, or June 17 according to the Norwegian time stated by the Norwegian Football Federation. The NFF points out that Iraq last appeared at the World Cup in 1986 and that it secured its place at the 2026 tournament with a victory against Bolivia in the play-off. For Norway, this opening is especially important because a positive result at the start would significantly increase the room for calmer preparation for the remaining group matches.
The second opponent is Senegal, a national team with pronounced physical strength and experience of appearing at major competitions. According to FIFA's schedule, the Norway-Senegal match is played on June 22 according to the local schedule at New York New Jersey Stadium, while the NFF in its calendar lists the date as June 23 because of the time difference. The third duel, against France, is scheduled for June 26 in Boston. France is one of the strongest national teams in the world and objectively the most demanding opponent in the group, so for Norway the distribution of points from the first two matches could be of decisive importance.
Preparations before travelling to the United States
The Norwegian Football Federation announced that the national team will play Sweden on June 1 at Ullevaal Stadion ahead of the tournament, and then Morocco on June 7 in the United States. Solbakken, according to the NFF, said that the staff had been working on preparations in parallel throughout the entire period and that he was looking forward to the moment when the team would travel so that, in a calmer rhythm, it could refine mental, physical and tactical details. These tests will have an important role because the head coach will have to align players coming from different leagues, with different ends to the club season and different workloads.
The warm-up matches should provide answers about the starting line-up, especially in defence and in the wing positions. Haaland and Ødegaard are naturally the central figures of the team, but tournament football is often decided by squad depth, set pieces, physical freshness and the ability to react from the bench. In that sense, players such as Aursnes, Berge, Berg, Nusa, Bobb and Schjelderup are important because they can change the rhythm of a match or enable a different structure in midfield and attack. Solbakken will have to find a balance between attacking potential and stability against teams that will try to force Norway into long phases of defending.
Tournament with an expanded format
The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 national teams, and FIFA states that 104 matches will be played in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The tournament begins on June 11 and ends on July 19, 2026, and the new format includes 12 groups of four national teams and an additional knockout round, the round of 32. In such a system, the two best national teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams will qualify for the next stage of the competition, which increases the number of possible scenarios in the closing part of the group stage.
For Norway, this means that the group does not necessarily have to be decided only by the fight for the top two places, but also that every match carries great weight because of the ranking of the third-placed teams. Goal difference, the number of goals scored and discipline can become important criteria if several teams finish with the same number of points. Norway showed in qualifying that it can create a large number of chances and efficiently punish mistakes, but at the World Cup the level of opponents and the pressure of matches will be significantly greater. That is precisely why Solbakken's selection of 26 players will be under the microscope from the first warm-up match until the end of the group-stage campaign.
Wider significance for Norwegian football
The return to the World Cup has a meaning that goes beyond the list of players itself. Norway has long had individuals in the biggest European clubs, but the national-team result did not follow individual quality until this generation. Now the same team contains one of the most lethal strikers in the world, the captain of one of the most prominent English clubs, several players from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and the Portuguese league, as well as players from the domestic championship. According to the NFF list, four players come from Norwegian clubs, while the rest play abroad.
Such a structure gives Norway a mixture of international experience and local continuity, but at the same time creates expectations the national team has not had for decades. Solbakken will therefore have to manage the pressure just as carefully as the tactical details. There will be a lot of public talk about Haaland and Ødegaard, but for Norway to make a step forward it will need the contribution of the entire group, from the goalkeepers and the back line to players who may not start matches but can decide individual moments. The list of 26 players is now known, and the next step will be to confirm on the pitch that the qualifying momentum can withstand the pressure of the global showcase.
Sources:
- Norwegian Football Federation – official announcement of Norway's 26-player list, statements by Ståle Solbakken, club data and preparation plan (link)
- FIFA – preview of the Norwegian national team, context of Group I and note on the provisional status of the lists until official confirmation (link)
- FIFA – official schedule of the 2026 World Cup matches and information about the 48-team tournament format (link)
- FIFA – explanation of the new format of the 2026 World Cup, the duration of the tournament and the competition structure (link)
- UEFA – qualifying Group I and official data on Norway's performance in the European qualifiers (link)
- FIFA – overview of Norway's return to the World Cup and Haaland's performance in qualifying (link)