The first World Cup appearance since 1998
©IMAGO
One of the most striking aspects of Norway’s 4-1 victory over Italy on Sunday night was its predictability. Despite Italy’s rich football history, Gennaro Gattuso’s team entered the San Siro as the slight underdogs. Italy initially took the lead just 11 minutes into the match; however, the weaknesses of the home side and Norway’s strengths became evident, allowing the visiting team to score four times in the second half. Unsurprisingly, Erling Haaland played a pivotal role in this turnaround, netting two goals in under a minute, enabling Norway to secure top position in their qualifying group and marking their return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
With his brace against Italy, Haaland’s national team scoring record has skyrocketed to an astounding 55 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions. Throughout this qualifying campaign, the Manchester City star has tallied 16 goals and provided two assists in just eight matches, allowing Norway to comfortably ascend to the top of their qualifying group with a flawless record and an impressive goal difference of +32. It’s worth noting that Norway’s path to major tournament qualification was not always straightforward, and examining their results before and after Haaland’s rise reveals his substantial impact on the team’s fortunes.
For instance, since Haaland made his debut against Malta in 2019, Norway has shown a significant rise in their scoring capabilities. During his first three years with the national team, their goals-per-game average in competitive matches fluctuated, even dipping to just 1.17 in 2022. However, this figure has remarkably improved annually, with an average of 4.63 goals per game in 2025, largely thanks to the towering striker. Notably, last year’s average of 2.5 goals per game was the second-best for the national team in the last 15 years. According to Transfermarkt stats, Norway’s goals-per-game average since Haaland’s debut has risen to 1.88, a 24% increase compared to the seven years prior.
Unsurprisingly, this improvement in scoring has translated into more points for Norway. As illustrated in the table above, Norway’s flawless record of 3.0 points per game in 2025 far exceeds any previous years during Haaland’s tenure with the national side. Additionally, last year’s 2.17 points per game average stands out as the third-best in the past 15 years. Since his debut, Haaland has lost only three European qualifiers, three Nations League matches, and just one World Cup qualifier out of a total of 38 competitive games. Consequently, Norway’s points-per-game average has surged by an impressive 68%, rising from 1.30 to 2.19 in competitive matches during the seven years before and after Haaland joined the squad. This remarkable record explains why the star striker will be at the forefront of Ståle Solbakken’s team as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup next year.
