Norway beat Italy 4-1 away in the final round of the UEFA Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, thus qualifying for the World Cup finals.
The last time Norway appeared on the World Cup stage was in 1998, when they were grouped with Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland in Group A. In the first two rounds of the group stage, they drew with Morocco and Scotland respectively, and in the final round, they defeated Brazil, who had already qualified in advance, to advance as the second-place team in the group.
After qualifying from the group stage, Norway's opponent was Italy, the team they had defeated twice in the qualifying rounds of World Cup 2026. However, in that 1/8 final, Italy eventually eliminated Norway 1-0 thanks to a goal from Vieri, and the current head coach of the Norwegian national team, Solbakken, also came on as a substitute in that game.
It is worth mentioning that Haaland is born in 2000, which means he has never seen Norway participate in the World Cup before 2026.