Haaland brings the World Cup to Norway

Norway are set to return to the World Cup after a decades-long absence, a milestone that is almost entirely the work of Haaland, the striker who has become the energy system that feeds the entire team.

Haaland is the source of energy that nourishes the Norwegian team with its World Cup ambitions.

Erling Haaland is on the brink of his first World Cup. This is the stage every striker dreams of. And also the stage Norwegian football has longed for for years.

That ticket came about because of one simple thing: Haaland on the pitch. He scored goals. He created panic in every defense. He was the foundation of the team's comeback.

Norway are all but certain to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. They’re just waiting for final confirmation, but everything is clear and solid. Haaland is the man leading the way. He’s scored 19 goals in 15 games for Manchester City this season. He’s even more dangerous for the national team: 14 goals in seven games. No big team depends on a player like Norway depends on Haaland. If he’s fit, they’re good. If he’s not, they’re out.

Haaland was born a month after Norway exited EURO 2000. That was the country’s only major tournament. They won just one game against Spain, then failed to progress. Norway have only played three World Cups, all in the last century, and never made it past the round of 16. That history makes the return all the more significant. And Haaland is the catalyst.

Haaland is in good form.

Many of the world ’s greatest talents have never played in a World Cup. George Best missed out because Northern Ireland failed to qualify. Ian Rush and Ryan Giggs were also sidelined by Wales’s weakness. George Weah, the first African to win the Ballon d’Or, never took Liberia to the World Cup. They are stars whose fates have been sealed.

The list includes two icons of world football: Di Stéfano and Kubala. Di Stéfano’s case is almost paradoxical. Argentina did not play in the 1950 and 1954 World Cups. He then became a Spanish citizen. But Spain did not qualify for the 1958 World Cup. He was injured at the 1962 World Cup. By 1966, he was in his twilight years. A brilliant career, but missing an important page.

Haaland was luckier than them. He arrived at the right time when Norwegian football benefited from the expanded format. But the recipe for success isn’t luck. It’s his preposterous ability to score goals.

At 25, Haaland enters the World Cup with maturity. He is stronger, more complete, and more mature than he was a few seasons ago. People no longer see a young player who explodes on instinct. Instead, they see a calculating machine, moving reasonably and finishing accurately.

Haaland's Norway team is getting closer to a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Norway are not a strong team. But they have something few teams have: a star player who creates a pull for the team. Haaland moves and the system revolves around him. Haaland scores and the team’s morale soars. Haaland has the ball and no one dares to go forward. His presence is the kind of power that every small team needs.

The World Cup is where great strikers prove their class. Messi knows that when he bowed his head to the top of the world in Qatar 2022, then went straight to the Golden Ball. Haaland is facing a similar opportunity. He broke records at club level. But he still needs an international mark to enter the legendary group. If Haaland explodes at the World Cup, small football like Norway could become the biggest story of the tournament.

Norway doesn’t dream of winning the championship. But they can dream of things they’ve never done before. And that hope comes from one man. A storm named Haaland. A nuclear powerhouse that could light up the World Cup.

He arrived at the right time. Norway waited for the right moment. And the world's biggest football stage was ready to welcome a new force.

Source: https://znews.vn/haaland-mang-world-cup-ve-cho-na-uy-post1602447.html