For the first time since 1998, Norway will take the field at a World Cup finals, and the man who dragged them there is a 25-year-old goal-scoring phenomenon whose appetite for the net borders on obsession. Erling Haaland’s debut in North America arrives after a qualifying campaign in which he plundered 16 goals, often carrying a side whose captain, Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard, was sidelined by injury. Drawn into a group alongside France, Senegal and Iraq, the Norwegians are not merely content with ending their long absence; they are eyeing a first-ever progression beyond the round of 16, and all calculations begin with their towering number nine.

Those who knew Haaland as a boy are not surprised. At Bryne FK, a small club in southern Norway, youth coach Espen Undheim remembers a “skinny” eight-year-old whose single-mindedness was already exceptional. Even when out of position, Haaland would drift towards goal, driven by what Undheim describes as an almost primal urge to score. That compulsion has since been refined into a ruthlessly efficient art: the Manchester City striker is now the fastest player to reach 50 goals in both the Premier League and the Champions League, and he amassed 50 international goals in just 46 appearances — a rate that dwarfs most of the game’s legends.

Such numbers command respect, and sometimes a wry smile, from opponents. Iraq’s manager, Graham Arnold, responded to questions about stopping Haaland with deadpan satire, suggesting that assigning five defenders to shadow him might give his side “a chance.” The Australian-born coach, whose assistant Rene Meulensteen once worked with Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United, was quick to add genuine admiration, calling it an honour for his players simply to share a pitch with the Norwegian. That sentiment was echoed by Norway’s own Ståle Solbakken, who declared Haaland “the most lethal striker in the world right now” and confirmed he arrives at the tournament in peak physical condition after a rare period of rest.

Viewed from Oslo to São Paulo, the narrative is unmistakable: this World Cup offers Haaland the platform his club exploits have long demanded. Born in England during his father’s playing days, he has always represented Norway, and his debut carries the weight of a nation’s hopes. The group stage presents immediate tests — a formidable France, a physical Senegal, and an unpredictable Iraq — but Solbakken’s side believes their goal machine can tilt any match. Whether Haaland can translate his club relentlessness to the World Cup’s unique pressures will define not only Norway’s campaign, but perhaps the tournament’s broader narrative.