PREVIEW: Can World Cup dark horses Norway stun the footballing world? | OneFootball

Following the shock and disappointment at missing out on Euro 2024, dark horses Norway are determined to not let their golden generation pass another World Cup tournament pass them by.

Captained by Arsenal stalwart Martin Odegaard and with Manchester City’s indominable talisman Earling Haaland leading the line, Norway found themeslves in a qualifying group containing four-time World Cup winners Italy, Israel, Moldova and Estonia.

While it seems an easy group looking back, the Italians were tipped as having a point to prove having missed out on the the last two World Cups – that, and the previous qualifying campaign, fueled Norway’s concern that things wouldn’t be easy.

Turns out they very much were.

Norway breezed past qualifying having played eight and won eight, scoring 37 goals while conceding just five in that time as Haaland was putting in performance after performance.

The Norwegians put 11 past Moldova in a single qualifying game and impressively beat Italy with an aggregate score of 7-2.

Haaland netted 16 goals in the eight games with the side overall averaging 4.5 goals per game on their way to North America. Finishing six points ahead of Italy, Norway’s World Cup adventure was just getting started.

Competing in their first World Cup since France 1998, Norway will be hoping to at least better their performance in that World Cup where they reached the round of 16 only to be knocked out by Italy in Marseille.

That result remains their best ever at a World Cup having previously bowed out in the group stage in ’94 and the first round equivalent in 1938.

With this being just their fourth World Cup, Norway will be heading into the competition with their best side ever and with potentially the best chance to make even more history.

They will do very well to become the best Nordic side at a World Cup due to neighbours Sweden reaching the final in 1958.

Norway are in the midst of what has to be considered a ‘golden generation’ owing to the freakish goalscoring consistency of Earling Haaland, the metronome play-style of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and the blistering pace and technique in players such as Fulham’s Oscar Bobb and RB’s Leipzig Atonio Nusa.

The further down the pitch you go things to get weaker with starters such as Kristoffer Ayer and David Moller Wolfe, but Norway do have more than enough firepower to take them to new heights at this World Cup. One of the things that will remain to be seen is how they deal with two major factors in the heat and the expectation.

The conditions in North America this summer have been hot topic throughout the build-up to the tournament and much has been made of how the European teams can cope with the conditions, those of which are expected reach up the mid-to late 30c during some games.

With the majority of the Norwegian team playing in Northern Europe and the others playing in a climate where the average temperature is 19c in the summer, they will be hard-pressed to cope with such a change in condition especially playing against sides that will be more accustomed to those temperatures.

Another thing that remains to be seen is how the Norwegians can cope with being insiders for the first time in their history, they won’t be the underdog in many matches this year and Stale Solbakken will have to adapt to the demands and perspectives.

As many peoples ‘dark horse’ this year, Norway could truly spring a surprise in the same vein as Morocco did during Qatar 2022, or they could sink to the bottom and flop a-la Denmark.

In a group consisting the likes of two-time winners France and AFCON champions/not champions Senegal, it will be a difficult group that is sure to throw up many surprises, it just remains to be seen as to whether or not Norway will be on the right side of those surprises.

Norway’s first game in that group is against Iraq in Boston on the 16th of June and kicks off at 23:00 (GMT).