The Norway national team secured their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada by defeating their 'nemesis' in such tournaments, Italy. Led by their top scorer Erling Haaland, the team will be participating for the fourth time and will aim to surpass the round of 16. According to the Argentine News Agency, the Nordic team has had three modest World Cup participations, as they only managed to advance past the first round on one occasion, while failing to do so in the other two. France 1938: Eliminated in the first round At the 1938 World Cup in France, the tournament was played with a direct knockout format. In the initial round, also known as the round of 16, Norway lost 2-1 in extra time to Italy, the defending champions and eventual two-time World Cup winners. Pietro Ferraris and Silvio Piola scored for the 'Azzurra', while Arne Brustad temporarily equalized for the losing team. USA 1994: Returned after 56 years, but was eliminated in the group stage Norway returned to the World Cup after 56 years of absence in 1994, but were eliminated in the group stage due to an incredible quadruple tie in points that left them last (with one goal for and one against) in Group E, behind Mexico (3 goals for and 3 against), the Republic of Ireland (2 for and 2 against), and Italy (2 for and 2 against). They started by defeating the 'Aztecs' 1-0 with a goal from Kjetil Rekdal, while in their second match, they fell to the 'Azzurri' by the same scoreline, with a goal from Dino Baggio. In the final group match, they needed to win or draw 2-2 or more to advance, but they could only manage a 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland. France 1998: Italy was their 'nemesis' again At the 1998 World Cup in France, Norway was present again, this time advancing past the group stage, but Italy was once again their 'nemesis' and eliminated them in the round of 16. They were placed in Group A and with 5 points, they finished second to Brazil (6 points), while Morocco was third (4 points) and Scotland was last (1 point). In their debut, they drew 2-2 with the African team, with an own goal from Youssef Chippo and a goal from Dan Eggen for the 'Nordics', and goals from Mustapha Hadji and Abdeljalil Hadda for 'The Lions of the Atlas'. In their second match, they drew 1-1 with Scotland, with goals from Håvard Flo for Norway and Craig Burley for the British. In the final match, they caused an upset by defeating Brazil, who had already secured first place, 2-1, with goals from Tore André Flo and a penalty from Kjetil Rekdal, while Bebeto had given the 'Verdeamarelha' the lead. In the round of 16, they were eliminated after losing 1-0 to Italy, with a goal from Christian Vieri.
