Erling Haaland
#9 · Forward · age 25 · (VC)
Norway's all-time top scorer; 16 goals in 8 qualifying matches.
96
WC26 rating
- Recent form
- 85
- Career peak
- 100
- League level
- 100
- Competition pedigree
- 98
- International pedigree
- 97
- Longevity
- 79
Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.
Career by season
Source: transfermarkt · fetched 2026-05-29
Norway have not played a World Cup since 1998. The reason they are playing one now is Erling Haaland. He scored eight more qualifying goals than Harry Kane and Memphis Depay, equalled the European single-campaign record set by Lewandowski over ten matches in 2018 (Haaland did it in eight), and produced the brace at San Siro that effectively put England’s qualification rivals out of the picture. He has done it while also dragging Manchester City through a transition season under Pep Guardiola.
The questions about Haaland at major tournaments are now squarely about what happens when defences sit deep against a top side and Norway can no longer dictate space. But he turns 26 mid-tournament, he is healthier than he has been at any previous June, and Norway have built the rest of the squad — Ødegaard, Sørloth, Nusa, Bobb — explicitly to feed him. He is the Norwegian player the rest of the group’s draw was effectively engineered around.
Strengths
- Elite finishing in the box
- Pace in transition
- Aerial dominance
- Physical strength against centre-backs
Recent form
16 goals in 8 World Cup qualifying matches — joint-record for a European qualifying campaign
Scored in every single one of Norway's eight 2026 qualifying matches — a feat not even Messi or Ronaldo has managed in a qualifying campaign.