Today's Talking Points
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1Norway are at their first World Cup since 1998. They qualified largely on the back of Erling Haaland's goals and the fear he instils in opposition defences. He's 25, at the peak of his powers, and this is his first World Cup. He will score.
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2Haaland has been one of the most prolific goalscorers in Premier League history with Manchester City. At international level, Norway's results tend to track very closely with whether he's being well-served by his teammates or not.
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3Norway are in Group I with France, Senegal and Iraq. France are heavy favourites to top the group. But a Haaland-inspired Norway causing an upset against France would be one of the tournament's great storylines. It's not impossible.
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4The Norwegian squad beyond Haaland is solid but not spectacular. The gap between his level and the rest is significant. The question is whether the team can give him enough service to be decisive rather than just dangerous.
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5Manager Ståle Solbakken has done the unglamorous work of building a functional team around a world-class striker — which sounds easy and isn't. The challenge is what happens when Haaland is being marked out of the game, which good teams always try to do.
🍺 Top Thing To Say Down The Pub
Haaland is 25, in the form of his life, and at his first World Cup. The only real question is how many he scores.
🚫 Avoid Saying
"Norway are a one-man team" — technically true, but Haaland is so good that this is actually a viable strategy. Manchester City tried something similar and won the treble.