{"id":216702,"date":"2026-07-11T11:39:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/norway-vs-england-mega-preview-predictions-form-guide-key-players-and-more-the-athletic-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:39:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:39:59","slug":"norway-vs-england-mega-preview-predictions-form-guide-key-players-and-more-the-athletic-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/norway-vs-england-mega-preview-predictions-form-guide-key-players-and-more-the-athletic-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Norway vs England mega-preview: Predictions, form guide, key players and more – The Athletic – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Cup
FIFA World
Cup 2026
Getty Images<\/span>
Erling Haaland has seven goals in four World Cup matches.
Harry Kane has six goals in five World Cup matches.
It\u2019s hard not to bill this quarter-final today (Saturday) as a clash between two superstar strikers, given their huge influence on Norway and England\u2019s progress so far.
Only Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi (eight goals from five games) and Kylian Mbappe of France (seven from six) have more goals in this tournament, and it will be fascinating to see how the two defences deal with the many threats posed by Haaland and Kane at Miami\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium.
Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app<\/a><\/span><\/i>
Advertisement
There is plenty of quality throughout the teams, though. Haaland is likely to be going up against Manchester City team-mates Marc Guehi and Nico O\u2019Reilly (plus John Stones, who recently left the club), while in midfield two Arsenal players are set to go head to head \u2014 Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
England have not lifted the World Cup trophy since 1966, while Norway have never won it. In fact, Norway had forgotten what it was even like to play at a World Cup. Their most recent appearance at the tournament before this one was in 1998, when Odegaard and Haaland were not even born.
We take a closer look at this game and where it might be decided\u2026
Round:<\/strong> World Cup quarter-final
World rankings:<\/strong> England (FIFA ranking: 4th) vs Norway (31st)
Venue:<\/strong> Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Date:<\/strong> Saturday, July 11
Kick-off<\/strong>: 2pm PT \/ 5pm ET \/ 10pm BST
England finished top of Group L with seven points after two victories and a draw. Their campaign began with a 4-2 win against Croatia before being held 0-0 by Ghana and beating Panama 2-0.
They then came from behind to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the round of 32. Harry Kane scored twice in the final 15 minutes, heading home the equaliser before striking the winner in the 86th minute.
Next, they beat co-hosts Mexico 3-2 in the last 16 in their own backyard at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, despite playing much of the second half with 10 men following Jarell Quansah\u2019s red card. Jude Bellingham got their first two goals and Kane converted a penalty as England held off a late fightback.
Amelie Claydon<\/em>
Norway finished second in Group I with six points. Stale Solbakken\u2019s side opened the tournament with a 4-1 win against Iraq before Erling Haaland scored twice in a 3-2 defeat of Senegal. Those results meant Norway had already qualified for the knockout stages, so rested 10 players as they were beaten 4-1 by France in their final group match.
Advertisement
Refreshed, they beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the round of 32. Antonio Nusa opened the scoring before Ivory Coast equalised, but Haaland struck an 86th-minute winner.
Haaland was the hero again in the last 16, scoring twice late on as the Norwegians stunned five-time World Cup winners Brazil 2-1. Neymar converted a consolation stoppage-time penalty with the last kick of the game as Norway reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
Amelie Claydon<\/em>
United States:<\/strong> 5pm ET \/ 2pm PT: Fox (English), Telemundo \/ Peacock (Spanish)
Canada:<\/strong> 5pm ET \/ 2pm PT: TSN \/ RDS
Mexico:<\/strong> 3pm CST: TelevisaUnivision \/ TV Azteca, with streaming on ViX
United Kingdom:<\/strong> 10pm BST: ITV1 and ITVX
Not many will have foreseen Norway\u2019s commanding victory over Brazil, but the way Solbakken managed that game is testament to both his tactical intelligence and their squad depth.
Norway have great power throughout the front line, something they looked to leverage in the early stages against Brazil as they pressed high with Haaland, and frequently went long to towering striker Alexander Sorloth, who was deployed on the flanks. As the match went on, realising that his team had the upper hand in possession, Solbakken introduced technical wingers from the bench in Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup to better dictate the flow of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cAntonio Nusa and Sorloth (the men those two replaced for the second half) did a good job, but it was a tactical decision,\u201d Solbakken said after the game. \u201cThe two players we brought on have different strengths. We wanted to play down the sides more, in smaller spaces, keeping the ball and creating triangles.
\u201cThat allowed us to keep the ball, have long attacks and play and play until they tired. That\u2019s when we had to go for the kill.\u201d
Such ability to adapt to a game means that England can\u2019t afford to rest on their laurels.
Off the pitch, Norway have dismissed reports that the squad have been struggling with a sickness bug as exaggerated. If everyone is fit, goalkeeper Orjan Nyland will retain his place after a heroic performance against Brazil, protected by strong centre-backs Kristoffer Ajer and Torbjorn Heggem. Their full-backs will look to get forward, while Sander Berge will anchor the midfield alongside the adventurous Patrick Berg and the creative presence of Odegaard.
Advertisement
The big question surrounds who will start on the flanks. If Norway set up to challenge England for possession, Bobb and Schjelderup could come in, but Nusa will take some moving from the left, given his star quality.
Thom Harris<\/em>
The headline with England\u2019s form at the World Cup so far has been their two best players, Kane and Jude Bellingham. They have been brilliant so far, Kane scoring six goals and Bellingham four, and both were utterly integral to England\u2019s progress to a third straight World Cup quarter-final.
Even in games when England have struggled, those two have delivered, Bellingham breaking the deadlock against Panama, Kane single-handedly turning the game against DR Congo in the last 32. In the last 16, Bellingham put England 2-0 up on Mexico in the first half, stunning a raucous home crowd, and a Kane penalty made it 3-1, giving them the platform to cling on for the win with 10 men.
That game saw England show a side of themselves we had not yet seen. They were a player short for most of the second half, including 11 minutes of added time, defending in a 5-3-1 and heading away a barrage of Mexico crosses to progress to the last eight.
It was very different from the way that England intended to play when they arrived at this World Cup. Coach Thomas Tuchel wanted to see an intense Premier League-style game, and while there were glimpses of that in the second half of the opening group match against Croatia, it has not always been that way. Key players Rice and Bukayo Saka have not always been at full fitness, while England have not had a settled, consistent situation at right-back, starting Reece James, Quansah and Djed Spence there so far.
There had been concerns over the availability of some important players<\/a> for the Norway match, but Guehi, Rice and James all trained on Friday, with Tuchel saying they are available for selection.
Advertisement
The question is whether we will see more of the intense England in the heat of South Florida, or maybe the more patient version that prevailed in Mexico City.
But the story of England so far in this tournament is that, however they play, Kane and Bellingham can deliver a result in the end.
Jack Pitt-Brooke<\/em>
This quarter-final is set to see two of the best strikers in world football going head-to-head.
No player across Europe has scored more than Kane\u2019s 96 league goals since he joined Bayern Munich in summer 2023. Haaland has averaged almost a goal a game across the past seven years. Both are well in the hunt for the World Cup\u2019s Golden Boot award, having scored crucial winning goals for their countries almost every step of the way.
Bellingham deserves a mention, too; his tireless running in-behind defences has created space for Kane all through the tournament, while his colossal defensive efforts have helped to maintain balance across the team. Also, Norway\u2019s Berg is going under the radar, despite similarly industrious performances in midfield.
But this looks like being a battle of the No 9s, and either could decide it.
Thom Harris<\/em>
It has been 33 years since England and Norway last met in a competitive match. But they had two hugely significant games when Norway, England and the Netherlands were drawn in the same qualification group for the United States-hosted 1994 World Cup. Only the top two teams in each European group qualified for the tournament.
England drew their first of 10 qualifiers, 1-1, with Norway at Wembley in October 1992, and by the time they travelled to Oslo\u2019s Ullevaal Stadium for the return fixture in June the following year, they were under huge pressure. England folded, Norway won 2-0, and ended up topping the group and going to their first World Cup since 1938.
Advertisement
England manager Graham Taylor\u2019s standing with the English media and public never recovered. To a certain generation of England fans, that defeat, the failure to qualify for the World Cup it led to and its immortalisation in TV documentary An Impossible Job are central parts of the national team\u2019s story.
There was also some unwelcome history (if you\u2019re English) made at the Ullevaal 12 years before that, when the two met in qualifying for the 1982 World Cup.
The home side surprisingly won 2-1, prompting Norwegian radio commentator Bjorge Lillelien to deliver one of the most famous lines in the history of football broadcasting, listing various famous English figures and finishing by saying, \u201c(Then UK prime minister) Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me! I have a message for you\u2026 your boys took a hell<\/em> of a beating!\u201d
 
 
A post shared by BBC Radio 4 (@bbcradio4)<\/a>