Not just Erling Haaland! Norway's stellar supporting cast have turned World Cup dark horses into genuine challengers

The men charged with picking out Haaland from the wide areas, Norway possess plenty of talent on the wings, even if manager Stale Solbakken might adopt a slightly unconventional approach to attacking from the flanks. More on that later, though.

Highly-rated RB Leipzig star Antonio Nusa has been a real threat on the left - a tricky 21-year-old who is more than capable of ghosting past his marker and skipping away from challenges. He was very effective in qualifying, providing six goal contributions in as many appearances, and while his World Cup numbers are more modest, they don't tell the whole story. Nusa's big moment came in the form of a stunning goal against Ivory Coast.

Andreas Schjelderup has played second fiddle on the left. Another youngster, the 22-year-old came into the World Cup off the back of a fine second half of the season under Jose Mourinho at Benfica, during which he delivered a combined 10 goals and assists in the space 14 league games. It was Schjelderup who came off the bench to provide a pair of late assists for Haaland against Brazil.

Fulham's Oscar Bobb has been a handy option off the bench on the right side, deputising for Alexander Sorloth, who has struggled to get going at the tournament, although that is understandable given he is a centre-forward who has been shunted out wide in Solbakken's system.

The midfield is another area of strength for Norway, as Solbakken has plenty of Premier League and Champions League-proven options at his disposal in the centre of the park

Chief among them, of course, is Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who has been ably supported by Fulham defensive midfielder Sander Berge and another Benfica star in Fredrik Aursnes, who is more of a No.8 - both very solid operators with plenty of experience at the highest level.

Aursnes is an interesting case. The 30-year-old actually retired from international duty two years ago to "have more time and freedom to prioritise other things in my life besides football", but he reversed the decision in February this year and has been a starter at the tournament despite playing no part in qualifying.

Injuries have seen classy Bodo/Glimt captain Patrick Berg get a chance in midfield and he has seized the opportunity, assisting Haaland against Senegal and, crucially, Ivory Coast.

There is no doubt, though, that Odegaard is the star of the show in midfield. He might divide opinion at club level with his somewhat inconsistent performances and tendency to let games pass him by on occasion, but when he's in his national team colours, he delivers more often than not.

Despite missing three of eight qualifying matches in what was an injury-hit season for Arsenal's Premier League-winning captain, the 27-year-old still provided seven assists - including three in one game against Israel. That's more than any other player in Europe.

Norway's creator-in-chief has been just as essential as Haaland to their attacking play, especially in terms of linking with those aforementioned wide players and, of course, using his vision to pick out the City hitman through the middle. He assisted three goals in his first three appearances at the World Cup, including one for Haaland against Senegal.

Haaland has started all-but one game at the World Cup, having been rested for the final group game against France with the Scandinavians already through, but if the unthinkable happened and Norway did need a replacement, they are actually well stocked in the striker department.

We've mentioned Sorloth, who would become the main man up top. He has a decent scoring record for his country and came into the tournament off the back of a 20-goal campaign with Atletico Madrid when he wasn't a guaranteed starter.

Speaking about Sorloth in an interview with FIFA recently, Solbakken said: "Alexander brings a lot of physicality, and he's a loyal player that can play in different positions up front. Sometimes he plays together with Erling, sometimes he plays a little to the right. He's a goal threat, but he's also an assist threat. But the best thing is that he works so hard for the team, sometimes in a position that he maybe doesn't prefer."

Crystal Palace's Jorgen Strand Larsen is the other alternative, and he was given the nod against France. The 26-year-old has earned plenty of admirers since arriving in the Premier League in 2024 and warmed up for the tournament with a brace in a friendly against Sweden. He also netted against Italy in qualifying and would be an able stand-in, albeit he did miss a penalty in his only appearance so far.

We mentioned that Norway have a slightly unconventional approach to attacking from the wide areas, with a towering striker playing off that flank and tucking inside when his side have the ball. Why, you ask? The answer is right-back Julian Ryerson - their biggest threat from the wings on paper.

Sorloth moves into a centre-forward position to allow the Borussia Dortmund man to bomb forward, and he is deadly in crossing positions - as evidenced by his ridiculous 18 Bundesliga assists in 2025-26. The clever part is that the inverted Sorloth gives him another big target to aim at in the middle.

Unsurprisingly, Ryerson is excellent from dead-ball situations, too, with a significant number of those assists coming from corners and free-kicks. Unfortunately, though, he has been hampered by an injury in North America that he suffered in their second group-stage match, missing two games before returning against Brazil. England will have to beware of him on Saturday, though.

Haaland's goals have undoubtedly been vital to Norway's cause at the World Cup, but beyond their star striker, Solbakken was always convinced they would be able to rely upon being more than the sum of their parts as they return to football's biggest stage for the first time in 28 years, and that has proven to be the case.

"I don't think we are dark horses to get all the way. I think we are dark horses in terms of, on our day, we can maybe beat a stronger opponent. But to say that we are dark horses for the whole tournament is too far. We are in a very hard group. I think it will be very tight and hopefully we have the organisation and the match-winners to get through."

He added: "For Norway, this is the World Cup to express themselves - to show the world that we play, maybe, a different kind of football than what we have done before, and that we are an offensive team with good individuals that work hard for each other. My dream scenario? I won't talk about it, because my dreams are for myself. But hopefully we can get the best out of the team and on our day, then we can beat anyone."