He bangs the drum: How Haaland's World Cup dream became a reality

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Manchester City F.C.

·11. Juli 2026

He bangs the drum: How Haaland's World Cup dream became a reality

The 2026 World Cup will be celebrated for years to come in Norway no matter what happens against England on Saturday evening.

It had been 28 years since the Nordic nation last played at a World Cup, with their last appearance at France ’98 seeing a certain Alfie Inge Haaland among its squad.

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It was, then, only fitting that Erling took over from where his father left off by representing his country at this tournament.

And Molde assistant coach Pål Arne Johansen - better known as ‘Paco’ – is particularly proud of Haaland junior’s achievements.

Paco coached a teenage Haaland for Norway’s youth squads and was already well aware of his abilities with his record of 13 goals in 32 appearances at Under 15, 16, 17 and 18 levels.

But the Leeds-born striker was continually improving, pushing himself and making waves at international level – he had a goal he wanted to achieve one day and that was representing his nation at a World Cup.

“The big break for him, in my opinion, was when we went to a Euro qualifier in Germany,” recalls Paco (pictured above).

“Norway hadn’t featured in a European U19 Championship for 13 years and we were in a group with Netherlands, Germany and Scotland.

“Only the winner went through, so for a small football nation like us, it was a big challenge. We lost our first game against Netherlands, even though we played quite well. Erling should have scored three goals in that game, but he was lacking a little match sharpness.

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But in the next game we beat a Germany side that included Kai Havertz. We won 5-2 and it should have been 10-2! It was a great game and Erling scored twice – though he should have scored five. It didn’t matter because his ability to get into big scoring chances was amazing in that game.

“He had some amazing actions during the match, where he dribbled through the whole German defence with speed and power and I was sat there thinking, ‘wow, he can be a really top player.’

“That was in March in 2018 and in the next game we beat Scotland and he scored three goals including two penalties which qualified us for the Euros, and then we qualified for the Under-20 World Cup which was our first time in 26 years. It was a great time for Norwegian youth football.”

Even aged only17, Erling Haaland was carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation on his shoulders…

“He was in a team that was making history and by that time and it was all starting to happen for him,” continued Paco. “But the game that convinced me he could play in one of the top five European leagues was that performance against Germany – who had some good defenders at the time – but they just couldn’t stop him.

“I’d guess that was also the tournament that made other clubs outside Norway really sat up and take notice. He finished top scorer in the Euros and then at the Under-20 World Cup a year later.”

The U20 World Cup is today, for many Norwegians the stuff of legend.

Haaland, now playing for Molde, was aged 18 at the time but it was clear that Norway had a potential superstar on their hands, not to mention a talented generation of other young up and coming stars.

But defeats to New Zealand and Uruguay meant Norway’s only hopes were to end their group stage with a big win against Honduras and sneak through the back door as one of the best third place teams – and even then they would be relying on results elsewhere.

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A victory of five goals-plus was required - a challenge Haaland seemed to personally take upon his shoulders, as he unleashed a devastating display of finishing against the Hondurans, scoring nine goals in a 12-0 victory.

“We needed to win that game by at least five goals to have the best chance of advancing and I remember him collecting the ball out of the net after his ninth of the game and sprinting back to the centre circle with it to get the game going again.

“I think he enjoyed that football match and it was important for him confidence-wise. But the thing that I recall most from that game is that he was quite annoyed he hadn’t scored a tenth goal!” smiled Paco.

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“I remember in the dressing room he was holding up nine fingers, and he was quite annoyed he couldn’t hold up ten! He had 10 chances and scored nine of them that evening as well as having one goal disallowed, but he was still frustrated he hadn’t managed double figures, which tells you a little bit about Erling Haaland!”

With 30 goals in 46 games for the various Norway age levels (U15 to U21), in August 2019 he was called up to the senior squad and 54 appearances and a record 62 goals later, he has been pivotal ever since, with his blistering form during qualifying seeing the Norwegians end their 28-year wait for World Cup football – and his form at the tournament has been sensational with seven goals in four matches ahead of the quarter-final with England.

“He is the biggest star in Norwegian football, and Erling is one of our top athletes at the moment and part of a new generation of Norwegian players who are doing well around Europe,” says Paco.

And now Erling is showing anyone who doesn’t already know just what he can do in a Norway shirt to a global audience - and he is more than willing to accept the responsibility.

“I think everyone expected it,” says Haaland. “Let’s put it this way. If I was a Norwegian football fan, living in Norway, and Erling Haaland plays for the Norwegian national team. I expect him to take us to the World Cup. Yeah. Simple as that.

“So I’ve been working towards this for a long time now, and finally, we managed to do it, which was incredible, and hopefully it’s the start of something - something special because we’ve got a great generation now, we’ve got a lot of young players still, and we are building something together, which can be amazing.”

“Ever since I made my [international] debut in 2019, my big goal was to get Norway to a World Cup and Euros. It’s a lot of pressure on me but I like the pressure – I would put a lot of pressure on Erling Haaland if I wasn’t Erling Haaland myself!

“I never got to experience Norway in World Cups before, so I’d always be rooting for other teams. I liked England, of course – I always wanted them to win. I have to say that.”

That won’t apply to the quarter-final clash, of course!

And what had dad Alfie had to say having played at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups?

“That it’s a whole different vibe because it’s the biggest stage,” says Erling.

“[My dad] also always says, ‘You need to try not to think too much about it and just enjoy it because you never know what’s going to happen in the future.’ Hopefully I’ll play in a World Cup again but for now it’s about enjoying the present.

“I mean, we’re doing so good in all the winter and summer sports [athletics] as well, to be honest, so it’s about time we perform a bit in football. We now have an amazing generation, and I want to build on this. I want to develop the whole federation and everything around it to become a big football nation. That is my goal.”