Norway have become one of the great revelations of the 2026 World Cup, alongside Erling Haaland‘s great performance. After eliminating Brazil in the Round of 16, the Scandinavian squad is one step away from placing itself among the top four teams in the tournament, where they will now face a complicated test against England.
Ahead of the matchup, Erling Haaland spoke to the media about England‘s status as favorites and the emotion that comes with playing in a World Cup for Norway. “I think there’s some clear favourites out there, England’s one of them,” said Manchester City striker Haaland.
Speaking to journalists, he added: “I think all of you should put every single pressure on the English lads.” Norway will look to continue writing the most important page of their history when they face England for a spot in the semifinals, where an expected clash between Kane and Haaland could define the details of their performance.
The impact on Norway
Furthermore, Haaland referred to the relevance for Norway regarding the feat they are achieving: “I definitely didn’t expect this. Even before the match against Brazil, I didn’t imagine it. Being in a quarterfinal now with Norway is something quite surprising, even for me,” he indicated.
Erling Haaland #9 of Norway looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match.
“Playing against Brazil was already something incredible for Norwegians, but beating them and then facing England in a quarterfinal is very special. If you see what is being experienced in Norway, you understand that this is not normal for us,” he added.
With the rivals they have faced and overcome, it is already a historic path within the World Cup, and even more so for a team like Norway. Now, if it surpasses England and reaches the semifinals with an Erling Haaland who has scored 7 goals so far in his first participation, it would be pure history. It is a shame that he has beasts like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in front of him.
Norway vs England match details
The match between Norway and England will kick off at 5:00 PM ET at Miami Stadium on Saturday, July 11. Whoever prevails in the result will face the winner of the matchup between Argentina and Switzerland in the semifinals, which will be played a few hours later.
