Written by Han Bing Norway's recent outbreak is inseparable from the consistent performance of two major stars, Haaland and Odegaard. Both have long been famous and have high hopes: Odegaard joined Real Madrid 10 years ago for a record transfer fee of 4 million euros for Under-17 players, and Haaland shocked football with nine goals in a single game at the 2019 Under-20 World Youth Championship. However, since 2020, the Norwegian team has still failed to qualify for three consecutive major tournaments.

Finally, the efforts of Erling Haaland and Odegaard this season have been echoed by the national team, with Norway erupting from last year's UEFA Nations League group stage and even more heated with three World Cup European qualifiers this year. The two superstars are no longer questioned as "club superstars, national team mortals", and together they have taken Norway up a notch.

The Norwegian team finally has a "magic man"

Thor-Flo, the protagonist of the 1998 World Cup victory over defending champions Brazil, witnessed the miracle of junior Haaland beating the world champion again after 27 years from the stands. At 1.93 meters tall, Flo shook the Brazilian defender to score a miracle, and now Haaland, who is taller, stronger and more skilled than him, simply passed the goalkeeper and smashed the ball into the empty net.

No one doubts Haaland's ability, but his performance in the Norwegian national team has been the same from youth to maturity, from erratic to stable.

In the 2020/21 season, Haaland played a peak 41 goals and 12 assists in 41 games at Borussia Dortmund, but he was only a "rookie" in the Norwegian team. In the six games of the group stage of Euro 2021 qualifying, Haaland missed four games due to injury, and did not score in two games. In the semi-finals of the play-offs in October 2020, Haaland played 120 minutes without scoring anything, and the team missed the European Championship finals. In the 2020/21 national team cycle, 10 appearances in 12 games were scoreless, and half of the seven goals and one assist were swiped on the likes of Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.

Haaland then got into form for Norway, sometimes scoring goals and sometimes suffering from injuries.

Haaland missed four games in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, during which Norway missed the World Cup with only one win in four games. In the Euro 2023 qualifiers, he missed two key games against Spain and Georgia with an injury, and Norway did not even qualify for the play-offs and missed Euro 2024. By March 2024, Haaland has scored four goals in Norway after the warm-up matches against the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the doubts have reached their peak.

It wasn't until June 2024 that Haaland really entered "super" mode for Norway, scoring a hat-trick against Kosovo that month, and Haaland broke the Norwegian team's goal record set by Yuwe in 1934 (33 goals) to become the new Norwegian team's all-time golden boot. In just one year, the Norwegian team has been full attendance in 11 games, handing over 14 goals and 1 assist, and participating in an average of 1.36 goals per game. Haaland scored 40 goals in 41 games for Norway after breaking through the Israeli goal in March, the fastest European player to score 40 goals since German superstar Gerd Müller (33) in 1971.

After beating Italy, Haaland averaged 0.98 goals per game for Norway (41 goals in 42 games), and only Nelson (Denmark, 52 goals in 38 games) and Puskas (Hungary, 84 goals in 85 games) who scored more than 20 goals in the national team were more efficient than him. It took only four years and seven months for Haaland to reach 40 goals for his country, and this is still on the basis of Norway's three consecutive major tournament appearances and at least nine games missing. The 21st century super scorer national team scored 40 goals, Ronaldo took 9 years, Messi and Lewandowski both took 8 years, and Mbappe took 5 years and 10 months.

As long as there are no major injuries, the Norwegian team will participate in the tournament steadily, and it is not impossible for Haaland, who has an age advantage, to hit Ronaldo's national team scoring record. Similarly, as long as Haaland maintains the efficiency of the "super mode", the Norwegian team will usher in a golden era even more glorious than the 1990s of the 20th century.

Odegaard's genius waited ten years

Before Haaland, the hope of the Norwegians was the genius Odegaard, who was called "once in fifty years".

In 2014, at the age of 15, Odegaard set the record for the youngest appearance in the history of the Norwegian Premier League and Norway, and in January 2015, he set a record transfer fee for an Under-16 player (4 million euros), becoming the first Norwegian player to join Real Madrid and the most expensive Under-16 player in Real Madrid's history. Unfortunately, Odegaard's career for club and country has been rocky: 679 days have passed since he joined Real Madrid when he played for the first team, and he has never proven himself at Real Madrid. Odegaard's maiden assist in Norway was three years and seven months after his debut, and it took almost nine years for him to reach 10 assists.

In March 2021, at the age of 22, Odegaard wore the armband of the Norwegian captain. He had previously played in four major qualifiers and struggled with his form, and after becoming captain, Odegaard still failed to "carry the team forward". In the 2022 World Qualifiers, he scored and assisted double zero in 10 games, and the same was true in the subsequent 6 group games of the UEFA Nations League B. In the 2024 Euro 2024 qualifiers, 1 goal and 1 assist bottomed out in 7 games, and last year the UEFA Nations League group stage suffered injury troubles. It wasn't until this year's World Cup qualifiers that Norwegian fans waited for Odegaard's moment to showcase his talent in the national team. With five assists in three games, a hat-trick against Israel and three assists on each team-mate, plus a back-to-back assist against Italy, Haaland, the two superstars have finally begun to work together.

Odegaard has three goals and 16 assists for Norway, including six assists for Erling Haaland. It took Odegaard a decade to break out in the Norwegian team, and the fundamental reason is also the change in the midfield formation of the Norwegian team and the general improvement in the form and strength of his teammates. Coach Solbakken put him on the right side of the triangle in midfield, with Premier League Fulham defender Bairig behind him, and attacking midfielders with rich experience in the high-level league such as Tosby (Genoa, Serie A), Asgaard (Luton, Championship) and Borg (Bodø Shining, Norwegian Premier League) to share the pressure, plus new wingers such as Szjedrup (Benfica, Portuguese Super League), Nousa (RB Leipzig, Bundesliga), Bob (Manchester City, Premier League) to open up attacking space, and Selot to enter the peak. Haaland is no longer alone up front, which makes Odegaard comfortable in organising attacks in midfield.

As the Norwegian media "VG" said: The outbreak of the Norwegian team in the European qualifiers for the World Cup, Haaland and Odegaard are the undisputed protagonists: Haaland scored in 3 consecutive games, Odegaard assisted 5 times, and the two were involved in half of the team's 12 goals combined. The Norwegian team continues to rely on the "thighs" of these two superstars, and the future is naturally worth looking forward to.