Superstar forward Erling Haaland has made a hilarious claim while addressing Norway’s 28-year absence from the FIFA World Cup.
Prior to the 2026 edition, the Landslaget had made it to the biggest international stage on just three occasions – 1934, 1994 and 1998. The current squad, led by stars like Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa among others, dominated in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers.
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Norway won all eight of their qualifying fixtures, scoring a whopping 37 goals and conceding just five. Haaland was the overall top scorer in qualifying with 16 strikes, while captain Odegaard led the assist charts with seven.
In the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 25-year-old marksman bagged braces in wins over Senegal (3-2) and Iraq (4-1). While he did not feature in the 4-1 loss to France, he got back to his scoring ways with a goal in a 2-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the Round of 32.
The Manchester City man bagged a brace to help the Vikings down five-time World Cup champions Brazil 2-1 in the Round of 16. After the game, he reflected on his national team’s journey and made a hilarious claim about qualifying for the tournament.
Haaland said (via @mundodeportivo on X):
“I think the way we played today shows that Norway is a fantastic football team and that we are actually one of the better teams in Europe and in the world. What we have been doing has been amazing. It took 28 years, it took some time (to get back to the World Cup). I’m 25 years old so you can’t really blame me for that… Its unbelievable, I’m proud of my country and of everyone (in the team).
With seven in five games thus far, the Norwegian sensation has the joint-most goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Erling Haaland storms back into FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race after brace in Norway’s 2-1 win vs Brazil
Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland stormed back into the Golden Boot race at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after scoring a brace in a 2-1 victory over Brazil.
The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner opened the scoring on the night by leaping the highest and heading Andreas Schjelderup’s cross beyond Alisson (79′). Just 11 minutes later, he followed it up by receiving a pass from Schjelderup and unleashing a stinging left-footed drive past Alisson (90′).
The brace took his overall tournament tally to seven goals in five games, bringing him on level terms with other superstar forwards. Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (five games) and Argentine maestro Lionel Messi (four games) also have seven goals; the former remains in the lead of the Golden Boot race as he has additionally racked up two assists.
The next opportunity for Haaland to extend his goalscoring tally will come in Norway’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final against England on Saturday (July 11).
Edited by Aaryan Nagraj
