Norway
Today's Talking Points
-
1Norway's tournament ended in the quarterfinal, beaten 2-1 by England on July 12 — heartbreak, but the end of the best World Cup run in the country's history.
-
2This was Norway's first World Cup since 1998, a 28-year wait finally over after a perfect qualifying campaign: eight wins from eight, scoring 37 goals along the way, eight more than any other qualifier. They did not arrive as tourists.
-
3The high point, and one of the moments of the whole tournament, was beating five-time champions Brazil 2-1 in the round of 16 on July 5. Erling Haaland scored twice in the last eleven minutes to send Brazil out of a World Cup earlier than they had at any point since 1990.
-
4Haaland was the obvious headline act — goals in the win over Brazil, top scorer for his country all tournament — but captain Martin Ødegaard was the calm head running the midfield underneath him, the reason Norway looked composed rather than just dangerous.
-
5A first-ever World Cup quarterfinal after 28 years in the wilderness is not a bad way to end a 'please just qualify for once' era. Norway go home as one of the genuine stories of the tournament, and nobody who watched it will forget the name Haaland.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub
Norway hadn't been to a World Cup since 1998, turned up and knocked Brazil out with a Haaland double in the last 11 minutes — one of the stories of the whole tournament, full stop.
🚫
Avoid saying
Don't say 'shame they've only got Haaland' — Ødegaard ran an entire midfield to a first-ever quarterfinal. This was not a one-man show, even if the finishing was.