Norway at the FIFA World Cup

Norway has participated in the qualification for 18 FIFA World Cup tournaments and have appeared in the main tournament four times, in 1938, 1994, 1998, and 2026. The team is undergoing their deepest run at a World Cup, advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history at the 2026 World Cup.^[1]^[2] They had the distinction of not losing any matches unless it was to Italy during the finals phase (losing to Italy in 1938 during round 1 in a straight knockout tie, being eliminated in the 1994 group stage from having the fewest number of goals scored after defeating Mexico, losing to Italy and drawing 0–0 with the Republic of Ireland which resulted in all four teams having 4 points and a 0-goal difference, and in 1998 drew with Scotland and Morocco before coming from behind to defeat Brazil 2–1^[3] to advance to the round of 16 where they were defeated by Italy).^[4]^[5]^[6]

Background

Norway's two appearances in the 1990s were built on the direct style of manager Egil Olsen, who favoured long passes, compact defending and rapid counter-attacks. Drawing on the goal-scoring analysis of statistician Charles Reep, the approach carried Norway to second in the FIFA World Rankings in the mid-1990s.^[7]

The return in 2026 ended a 28-year absence, the country's first appearance since 1998. Led by Erling Haaland, who scored 16 goals in UEFA qualifying, Norway secured their place with a 4–1 win over Italy in Milan.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Record at the FIFA World Cup

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter
1934	Did not enter
1938	Round of 16	12th	1	0	0	1	1	2
1950	Did not enter
1954	Did not qualify
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Group stage	17th	3	1	1	1	1	1
1998	Round of 16	15th	4	1	2	1	5	5
2002	Did not qualify
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026	Quarterfinals	TBD	5	4	0	1	12	9
2030	To be determined
2034	To be determined
Total: 4/23	Quarterfinals	12th	13	6	3	4	19	17

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

By match

World Cup	Round	Opponent	Score	Result	Venue	Scorers
1938	Round of 16	Italy	1–2 (a.e.t.)	L	Marseille	A. Brustad 83'
1994	Group stage	Mexico	1–0	W	Washington, D.C.	K. Rekdal 84'
		Italy	0–1	L	East Rutherford	—
		Republic of Ireland	0–0	D	East Rutherford	—
1998	Group stage	Morocco	2–2	D	Montpellier	Y. Chippo 45+1' (o.g.), D. Eggen 61'
		Scotland	1–1	D	Bordeaux	H. Flo 46'
		Brazil	2–1	W	Marseille	T.A. Flo 83', K. Rekdal 89' (pen.)
	Round of 16	Italy	0–1	L	Marseille	—
2026	Group stage	Iraq	4–1	W	Foxborough	E. Haaland 29', 43', L. Østigård 76', A. Hussein 90+6' (o.g.)
		Senegal	3–2	W	East Rutherford	M. Holmgren Pedersen 43', E. Haaland 48', 58'
		France	1–4	L	Foxborough	T. Aasgaard 21'
	Round of 32	Ivory Coast	2–1	W	Arlington	A. Nusa 39', E. Haaland 86'
	Round of 16	Brazil	2–1	W	East Rutherford	E. Haaland 79', 90'
	Quarterfinals	England	v		Miami Gardens

Record by opponent

FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent	Wins	Draws	Losses	Total	Goals Scored	Goals Conceded
Brazil	2	0	0	2	4	2
England	0	0	0	0	0	0
France	0	0	1	1	1	4
Iraq	1	0	0	0	4	1
Italy	0	0	3	3	1	4
Ivory Coast	1	0	0	1	2	1
Mexico	1	0	0	1	1	0
Morocco	0	1	0	1	2	2
Republic of Ireland	0	1	0	1	0	0
Scotland	0	1	0	1	1	1
Senegal	1	0	0	1	3	2

Match records

1938 FIFA World Cup

Squad

First round

5 June 1938	Italy	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Norway	Marseille, France
17:00 (WEST)	Ferraris 2' Piola 94'	(1–1, 1–0) Report (FIFA)	83' Brustad	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Alois Beranek (Austria)

1994 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Group stage

19 June 1994	Norway	1–0	Mexico	Washington, D.C., USA
16:00 (EDT)	Rekdal 84'	(0–0) Report (FIFA)		Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 52,395 Referee: Sandor Puhl (Hungary)

23 June 1994	Italy	1–0	Norway	East Rutherford, NJ, USA
16:00 (EDT)	Pagliuca 21' D. Baggio 69'	(0–0) Report (FIFA)		Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 74,624 Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

28 June 1994	Republic of Ireland	0–0	Norway	East Rutherford, NJ, USA
12:30 (EDT)		Report (FIFA)		Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 72,404 Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

1998 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Group stage

10 June 1998	Morocco	2–2	Norway	Montpellier, France
21:00 CET	Hadji 37' Hadda 60'	(1–1) Report (FIFA)	45+1' (o.g.) Chippo 61' Eggen	Stadium: Stade de la Mosson Attendance: 29,800 Referee: Pirom Un-Prasert (Thailand)

16 June 1998	Scotland	1–1	Norway	Bordeaux, France
17:30 CET	Burley 66'	(0–0) Report (FIFA)	46' H. Flo	Stadium: Stade du Parc Lescure Attendance: 31,800 Referee: László Vágner (Hungary)

23 June 1998	Brazil	1–2	Norway	Marseille, France
21:00 CET	Bebeto 78'	(0–0) Report (FIFA)	83' T.A. Flo 89' (pen.) Rekdal	Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Esse Baharmast (United States)

Round of 16

27 June 1998	Italy	1–0	Norway	Marseille, France
16:30 CET	Vieri 18'	(1–0) Report (FIFA)		Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)

2026 FIFA World Cup

Group stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	3	0	10	2	+8	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Norway	3	2	1	8	7	+1	6
3	Senegal	3	1	2	8	6	+2	3
4	Iraq	3	0	3	1	12	−11	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

June 16, 2026

6:00 p.m. UTC−4

Iraq	1–4	Norway
Hussein 39'	^{[Report 1]}	Haaland 29', 43' Østigård 76' Hussein 90+6' (o.g.)

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 63,106

Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

June 22, 2026

8:00 p.m. UTC−4

Norway	3–2	Senegal
Pedersen 43' Haaland 48', 58'	^{[Report 2]}	I. Sarr 53', 90+3'

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 80,663

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

June 26, 2026

3:00 p.m. UTC−4

Norway	1–4	France
Aasgaard 21'	^{[Report 3]}	Dembélé 7', 20', 32' Doué 90+4'

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 64,146

Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

Knockout stage

Round of 32

June 30, 2026

12:00 p.m. UTC−5

Ivory Coast	1–2	Norway
Diallo 74'	^{[Report 4]}	Nusa 39' Haaland 86'

AT&T Stadium, Arlington

Attendance: 69,665

Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

Round of 16

July 5, 2026

4:00 p.m. UTC−4

Brazil	1–2	Norway
Neymar 90+10' (pen.)	^{[Report 5]}	Haaland 79', 90'

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 80,663

Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)

Quarterfinals

July 11, 2026

5:00 p.m. UTC−4

Norway	Match 99	England
	^{[Report 6]}

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens

Player records

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Matches	World Cups
1	Henning Berg	7	1994 and 1998
	Stig Inge Bjørnebye	7	1994 and 1998
	Kjetil Rekdal	7	1994 and 1998
4	Øyvind Leonhardsen	6	1994 and 1998
4	Erik Mykland	6	1994 and 1998
6	Fredrik Aursnes	5	2026
	Patrick Berg	5	2026
	Oscar Bobb	5	2026
	Antonio Nusa	5	2026
	Andreas Schjelderup	5	2026

Goalscorers

Player	Goals	1938	1994	1998	2026
Erling Haaland	7				7
Kjetil Rekdal	2		1	1
Arne Brustad	1	1
Dan Eggen	1			1
Håvard Flo	1			1
Tore André Flo	1			1
Leo Østigård	1				1
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen	1				1
Thelo Aasgaard	1				1
Antonio Nusa	1				1
Own goals	2			1	1
Total	19	1	1	5	12

References

↑ Lutz, Tom (2026-07-05). "Brazil 1-2 Norway: World Cup 2026 last 16 – live reaction". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
↑ Keyser, Hannah (2026-07-05). "Norway stuns Brazil with two late goals to knock out the 5-time World Cup champions | CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
↑ "Flonaldo ices Brazil". FIFA. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
↑ Ames, Nick (June 15, 2026). "Will Norway's slick modern model succeed where the class of '94 failed?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
↑ Riddell, Don (June 21, 2026). "How three Norway players are continuing the mission their dads started at the 1994 World Cup". CNN.
↑ "Norway player ratings vs Senegal: Erling Haaland punishes sloppy defending with brilliant brace as Vikings survive late scare to reach World Cup knockouts for first time since 1998". www.goal.com. June 23, 2026.
↑ McMahon, Bobby (21 October 2012). "The Most Important Soccer Performance Analyst You Have Never Heard Of". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
↑ "Finally: Norway star Erling Haaland on fulfilling World Cup dream". ESPN. June 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
↑ "Norway 2026 FIFA World Cup Campaign and Team Overview". 2026 World Cup. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
↑ "Norway qualify for World Cup 26". FIFA. 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

Reports

↑
- "Iraq vs Norway | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
↑
- "Norway vs Senegal | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
↑
- "Norway vs France | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
↑
- "Côte d'Ivoire vs Norway | Round of 32 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
- "Match Report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire v. Norway". FIFA. June 30, 2026. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire vs. Norway". FIFA. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
↑
- "Brazil vs Norway | Round of 16 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- "Match Report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
↑ "Norway vs England | Quarter-final | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[1] Lutz, Tom (2026-07-05). "Brazil 1-2 Norway: World Cup 2026 last 16 – live reaction". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-07-05.

[2] Keyser, Hannah (2026-07-05). "Norway stuns Brazil with two late goals to knock out the 5-time World Cup champions | CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2026-07-05.

[3] "Flonaldo ices Brazil". FIFA. Retrieved 30 June 2026.

[4] Ames, Nick (June 15, 2026). "Will Norway's slick modern model succeed where the class of '94 failed?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2026-07-01.

[5] Riddell, Don (June 21, 2026). "How three Norway players are continuing the mission their dads started at the 1994 World Cup". CNN.

[6] "Norway player ratings vs Senegal: Erling Haaland punishes sloppy defending with brilliant brace as Vikings survive late scare to reach World Cup knockouts for first time since 1998". www.goal.com. June 23, 2026.

[7] McMahon, Bobby (21 October 2012). "The Most Important Soccer Performance Analyst You Have Never Heard Of". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

[8] "Finally: Norway star Erling Haaland on fulfilling World Cup dream". ESPN. June 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

[9] "Norway 2026 FIFA World Cup Campaign and Team Overview". 2026 World Cup. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

[10] "Norway qualify for World Cup 26". FIFA. 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2026.

[11] 
"Iraq vs Norway | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
"Match Report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
"Post match summary report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.

[mwA5I] "Iraq vs Norway | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 16, 2026.

[mwA5Q] "Match Report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.

[mwA5Y] "Post match summary report – Group I – Iraq v. Norway". FIFA. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.

[12] 
"Norway vs Senegal | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
"Match Report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
"Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.

[mwA54] "Norway vs Senegal | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 23, 2026.

[mwA6A] "Match Report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.

[mwA6I] "Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. Senegal". FIFA. June 23, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.

[13] 
"Norway vs France | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
"Match Report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
"Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.

[mwA6o] "Norway vs France | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 26, 2026.

[mwA6w] "Match Report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.

[mwA64] "Post match summary report – Group I – Norway v. France". FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.

[14] 
"Côte d'Ivoire vs Norway | Round of 32 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
"Match Report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire v. Norway". FIFA. June 30, 2026. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
"Post match summary report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire vs. Norway". FIFA. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[mwA7Y] "Côte d'Ivoire vs Norway | Round of 32 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 30, 2026.

[mwA7g] "Match Report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire v. Norway". FIFA. June 30, 2026. Retrieved June 30, 2026.

[mwA7o] "Post match summary report – Round of 32 – Côte d'Ivoire vs. Norway". FIFA. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.

[15] 
"Brazil vs Norway | Round of 16 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
"Match Report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
"Post match summary report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[mwA8I] "Brazil vs Norway | Round of 16 | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 5, 2026.

[mwA8Q] "Match Report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 5, 2026.

[mwA8Y] "Post match summary report – Round of 16 – Brazil v. Norway". FIFA. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[16] "Norway vs England | Quarter-final | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[Report 1]

[Report 2]

[Report 3]

[Report 4]

[Report 5]

[Report 6]

v t e Countries at the FIFA World Cup
Team appearances All-time table
AFC	Australia¹ China Indonesia² Iran Iraq Japan Jordan Kuwait North Korea Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan²
CAF	Algeria Angola Cameroon Cape Verde DR Congo² Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia
CONCACAF	Canada Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States
CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay
OFC	New Zealand
UEFA	Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic² Denmark East Germany³ England France Germany² Greece Hungary Iceland Israel¹ Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia² Scotland Serbia² Slovakia² Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine² Wales
¹ Have been member of multiple confederations. ² Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). ³ Team and national federation no longer exist.

Background

Record at the FIFA World Cup

By match

Record by opponent

Match records

1938 FIFA World Cup

Squad

First round

1994 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Group stage

1998 FIFA World Cup

Squad

Group stage

Round of 16

2026 FIFA World Cup

Group stage

Knockout stage

Player records

Most appearances

Goalscorers

See also

References

Reports