Norwegian National Football Team / World Championships

Kingdom of Norway
Kongeriket Norge

World Cup record goalscorer:	Kjetil Rekdal (2)
World Cup record players:	Henning Berg , Stig Inge Bjørnebye and Kjetil Rekdal (7 each)
Rank :	50
Balance sheet
8 World Cup games, 2 wins, 3 draws, 3 defeats, 7-8 goals
statistics
First World Cup game Norway 1-2 n.V. Italy Marseille ( FRA ); June 5, 1938
Biggest World Cup victories Norway 1-0 Mexico Washington ( USA ); June 19, 1994 Norway 2-1 Brazil Marseille ( FRA ); June 23, 1998
Biggest World Cup defeats Norway 1: 2 aet Italy Marseille ( FRA ); June 5, 1938 Norway 0-1 Italy East Rutherford ( USA ); June 23, 1994 Norway 0-1 Italy Marseille ( FRA ); June 27, 1998
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	3 ( first : 1938 )
Best results	Round of 16, 1998
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(Status: after the 2018 World Cup )

The article contains a detailed description of the Norwegian national football team at World Cups :

overview

Norway have taken part in the World Cup finals three times so far and always met Italy.

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated
1934	Italy	not participated
1938	France	Round of 16	Italy	12.	Asbjørn Halvorsen	Defeat in extra time
1950	Brazil	not participated
1954	Switzerland	not qualified				In qualifying at eventual champions Germany failed
1958	Sweden	not qualified				In the qualifications of vice world champion Hungary failed
1962	Chile	not qualified				In the qualification of the USSR failed
1966	England	not qualified				In the qualification of France failed
1970	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification of Sweden failed
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification to the Netherlands failed
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification again Sweden failed
1982	Spain	not qualified				In qualifying at Hungary and England failed
1986	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification of Denmark and the USSR failed
1990	Italy	not qualified				In the qualification of Yugoslavia and Scotland failed
1994	United States	Preliminary round	Mexico , Italy , Ireland	17th	Egil Olsen	Bottom group with the same number of points and the same goal difference as the three group opponents, but the lower number of goals.
1998	France	Round of 16	Italy	15th	Egil Olsen
2002	South Korea / Japan	not qualified				In the qualification to Poland and Ukraine failed, which also failed in the play-offs
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the relegation play the runners-up in the Czech Republic failed.
2010	South Africa	not qualified				In the qualification to the Netherlands failed and ceased to be a bad tester second in the group.
2014	Brazil	not qualified				In qualifying , Norway met Albania , Iceland , Switzerland , Slovenia and Cyprus
2018	Russia	not qualified				In the qualification started in September 2016 against defending champions Germany and Northern Ireland failed.

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• Not participated: 3 × (14%; 1930, 1934 and 1950)
• Unqualified: 15 × (71%; 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018)
• Athletic qualification: 3 × (14% or 17% of the attempts)
  • Preliminary round: 1 × (5%; 1994)
  • Round of 16 or first round: 2 × (10%; 1938 and 1998)

World Cup tournaments

1930 and 1934

Although the Norges Fotballforbund was founded in 1902 and accepted into FIFA in 1908 , it also sent a team to the 1912 Olympic Games in 1920 , where the team reached the quarter-finals without a fight and was eliminated there, but the Norwegians did not take part in the first two World Cup tournaments .

1938 in France

After Norway surprisingly finished third at the 1936 Olympic Games , the Norwegians also wanted to take part in the World Cup for the first time. For the first World Cup in France to Norway had against Ireland to qualify . On October 10, 1937, the first World Cup qualifier took place in Oslo and Norway won 3-2. With a 3: 3 in Dublin qualification succeeded.

At the World Cup, the Norwegians met defending champions Italy in the round of 16 and were already behind after three minutes. In the 83rd minute, however, Arne Brustad was able to equalize with the first World Cup goal for Norway and force extra time. In this, Silvio Piola scored the winning goal after just four minutes. With that, Norway said goodbye to the World Cup for 56 years.

1950 in Brazil

Norway had already resumed international matches in August 1945 and played numerous games up to 1949, but the Norwegians did not take part in the second World Cup in South America .

1954 in Switzerland

For the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland to Norway would then qualify and was officially introduced to the German national team for the first time after the Second World War, was allowed to participate again, and at that time independent Saarland . Norway lost the first game in Oslo against Saarlanders 2: 3, then fought 1: 1 against Germany and 0: 0 in Saarbrücken , but then lost 5 : 0 in Hamburg . Norway was eliminated and Germany went to the World Cup after beating Saarland, where the German team surprisingly became world champions.

1958 in Sweden

Norway again failed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup in neighboring Sweden . This time the vice world champions were Hungary , who still competed with a few players from the 1954 team, although the majority of the players from 1954 had left the country after the Hungarian uprising of 1956, and Bulgaria were stronger. After a 2-1 home game against the Bulgarians, a 2-1 win against Hungary in Oslo , but the two away games were lost (0: 7 - one of the Bulgarians' two biggest wins to date - and 0: 5). Norway was eliminated as the bottom of the group.

1962 in Chile

Qualifying for the 1962 World Cup was even worse . All games were lost against the USSR and Turkey .

1966 in England

In qualifying for the World Cup in England, things went a little better. Equal on points with Yugoslavia , but with the better goal difference, they finished second behind France , which they lost 2-0 to 1, and ahead of Luxembourg . However, this was not enough to reach the finals.

1970 in Mexico

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Central America , France and their Scandinavian neighbor Sweden were again the opponents. Norway won their first game in France, but then lost the remaining three games and were eliminated as the bottom of the group. After all, with their victory in France, they helped the Swedes to qualify.

1974 in the Federal Republic of Germany

The Norwegians could not qualify for the World Cup in Germany . All games were lost against Belgium and the eventual runner-up in the Netherlands around Johan Cruyff . Only against Iceland got two victories, so that in the end only 3rd place in the group of four jumped out.

1978 in Argentina

For the fourth World Cup in South America to Norway had in a group with Sweden and Switzerland deal. Norway won both home games and lost both away games. This was only enough for second place, as the neighbor won both games against Switzerland.

1982 in Spain

Norway again failed to qualify for the World Cup on the Iberian Peninsula . In a balanced group with Hungary , England , Romania and Switzerland , Norway only came in last. After all, the first victory in a competitive game against England succeeded on September 9, 1981, whereby the English almost missed the qualification.

1986 in Mexico

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Mexico , Denmark , the USSR , Switzerland and Ireland were the opponents. The Norwegians started with a 0-1 home defeat against Switzerland and only got their first and only victory in their fourth game, a 1-0 against Ireland. In the end it was only the last place for the Norwegians.

1990 in Italy

The second World Cup in Italy missed Norway again. In the qualification , Yugoslavia , Scotland and France were stronger. Only against Cyprus both games were won, which this time the last place was avoided.

1994 in the United States

Norway was finally able to qualify again for the World Cup in the USA . In a group of six, the Norwegians led by Rune Bratseth , who won the German soccer championship with Werder Bremen in 1988 and 1993 , surprisingly eliminated the English as group winners together with the Netherlands. Poland , Turkey and San Marino had nothing to do with the outcome.

In the USA, the Norwegians were able to win a World Cup game for the first time on June 19, 1994: 1-0 against Mexico . The second group game was followed by a 1-0 defeat against Italy and after a 0-0 win against Ireland all four teams had four points and an even goal difference. However, the Norwegians had scored the fewest goals and were eliminated as the best group bottom, while the other three teams reached the knockout round.

1998 in France

Also for the second World Cup in France to Norway came as group winners qualify . In the end, the team was 8 points ahead of Hungary. It was followed by Finland , Switzerland and a knocked-off Azerbaijan , which surprisingly beat Switzerland in the first game, but otherwise only served as a point supplier.

In France, a 2-2 win against Morocco was won in the first game . Against Scotland a 1-1 draw followed and against defending champions Brazil the Norwegians were given little chance of advancing. The Norwegians kept the 0-0 up until the 78th minute, before Bebeto scored the opening goal for the record world champions. The final phase was then dramatic: First, Tore André Flo equalized in the 83rd minute. This left Norway with three points behind Morocco, which led 2-0 in the parallel game against Scotland, increased to 3-0 in the 84th minute and had four points. The Norwegians received a penalty in the 88th minute, which Kjetil Rekdal converted to a 2-1 victory. The Norwegians had five points and passed Morocco into the round of 16. There they met runner-up world champions Italy again and fell behind in the 18th minute. It stayed that way and Norway had to say goodbye to the World Cup for at least 24 years.

2002 in Japan and South Korea

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Asia, Norway went back to the old days. Poland, Ukraine and Belarus were stronger, only Wales and Armenia were sent off and only the last two games against Wales and Armenia were won.

2006 in Germany

The qualification for the second World Cup in Germany went a little better . Only Italy were group winners ahead of Norway. Scotland , Slovenia , Belarus and Moldova were relegated to their places. Thus Norway reached the play-off games of the not directly qualified runners-up. Opponents were the Czech Republic, but both games in Oslo and Prague were lost 1-0 and thus missed qualification.

2010 in South Africa

Four years later, it wasn't even enough for the play-off games of the group runners-up. Although second place was occupied again, this time behind the Netherlands, dealing with 8 wins first European team for the first World Cup in Africa qualified , but in the group with Scotland , Macedonia and Iceland were recovered his lack of games. Thus, Norway missed the playoff games as the worst runners-up in the group.

2014 in Brazil

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Brazil , Norway was the favorite, as the team was 12th in the FIFA world rankings at the time , but in the end it was only 4th behind Switzerland , Iceland and Slovenia, ahead of the Qualifications were rated lower. Only Albania and Cyprus were behind Norway in the end.

2018 in Russia

In the qualification that began in September 2016 , Norway, which has been coached by Per-Mathias Høgmo since 2013 , who led the Norwegian women to win the 2000 Olympic Games, faced defending champions Germany , the Czech Republic , Northern Ireland , Azerbaijan and San Marino . Azerbaijan was also an opponent in the qualification for the European Championship 2016 and was for the first time opponent in the World Cup qualification in 1998. With three wins and one draw, the balance before the qualification was positive. Against Germany, however, could only be won twice in 20 games previously, but the last game on February 11, 2009 against a top-class German team in favor of the Norwegians. The last competitive game between the two was in qualifying for the 1954 World Cup, after which Germany became world champions for the first time. Both played the group's first game on September 4, 2016 and the Norwegians lost 3-0 at home. Northern Ireland had previously opposed the Norwegians eight times and Norway won seven times but lost only once. The two have never met in a World Cup qualification. There have only been two games against San Marino, both of which were won by Norway in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. Against the Czech Republic there was only one win in six games, with two draws and three defeats, including two 0-1 defeats in the 2006 World Cup qualification.

After the opening defeat against Germany, the Norwegians also lost in Azerbaijan and thus for the first time against the Azerbaijanis. It was then possible to win 4-1 against San Marino, but after a 2-1 draw against the Czech Republic, Høgmo was dismissed in November 2016. His post was taken over by the Swede Lars Lagerbäck , who had previously led Iceland to a European Championship finals for the first time and was able to eliminate England in the round of 16 there. The Norwegians lost the first qualifying game under his leadership in March 2017 with 0-2 against Northern Ireland. After a 1-1 home game against the Czech Republic and a 2-0 home win against Azerbaijan, they lost 6-0 to the defending champions and thus had no chance of qualifying for the finals before the last two games. They then won 8-0 in San Marino and 1-0 at home against Northern Ireland, but that only had statistical value.

player

Ranking of the Norwegian World Cup players with the most appearances

01. Henning Berg , Stig Inge Bjørnebye and Kjetil Rekdal - 7 in 2 tournaments

04. Erik Mykland and Øyvind Leonhardsen - 6 in 2 tournaments

Ranking of the Norwegian World Cup players with the most goals

01. Kjetil Rekdal - 2 goals

02. Arne Brustad , Dan Eggen , Håvard Flo and Tore André Flo - 1 goal

World Cup captains

• 1938: Nils Eriksen
• 1994: Rune Bratseth
• 1998: Frode Grodås

Players banned from World Championships

• 1994: Alf-Inge Haaland received the second yellow card in the second group game and was suspended for the last group game.
• 1998: Erik Mykland and Kjetil Rekdal received the second yellow card in the round of 16, as Norway was eliminated, these had no effect.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

When first participating, only one legionnaire was appointed, but not deployed. In the two other participations, legionaries formed the main part of the team, mostly players playing in England.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1938 (1)	1 (Sweden)	Sverre Nordby (0)
1994 (3)	14 (1 in Belgium, 1 in Denmark, 1 in Germany, 9 in England, 1 in Switzerland, 1 in Turkey)	Kjetil Rekdal (3); Dan Eggen (0), Rune Bratseth (3); Henning Berg (3), Lars Bohinen (3), Jan Åge Fjørtoft (2), Jostein Flo (3), Gunnar Halle (2), Alf-Inge Haaland (2), Erland Johnsen (1), Roger Nilsen (0) , Erik Thorstvedt (3); Mini Jakobsen (3); Gøran Sørloth (1)
1998 (4)	17 (2 in Germany, 1 in Denmark, 11 in England, 1 in Greece, 1 in Austria, 1 in Spain)	Håvard Flo (4), Kjetil Rekdal (4); Ståle Solbakken (3); Espen Baardsen (0), Henning Berg (4), Stig Inge Bjørnebye (4), Tore André Flo (4), Frode Grodås (4), Gunnar Halle (1), Ronny Johnsen (4), Øyvind Leonhardsen (3), Thomas Myhre (0), Egil Østenstad (1), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (3); Erik Mykland (3); Vidar Riseth (4); Dan Eggen (4)

Games

The Norwegians have played eight World Cup games so far. Two of them were won, three lost (all against Italy) and three ended in a draw. A game had to be extended because a winner had to be determined and was lost in overtime.

The Norwegians never played in the opening game and never played against the hosts.

The Norwegians lost once (1938) to the eventual world champion.

In 1938 and 1998 the Norwegians played against the defending champions, losing the first game and winning the second.

The Norwegians never met newcomers to the World Cup. The most frequent opponent is Italy, against which they played every time and always lost, but always with only one goal difference (1: 2 nV and twice 0: 1). All other games are unique. No victory and no defeat are the greatest against the respective opponent.

All World Cup games
No.	date	opponent	Result	occasion		venue	Remarks
1	06/05/1938	Italy	1: 2 a.d.	Round of 16	*	Marseille ( FRA )
2	06/19/1994	Mexico	1-0	Preliminary round	*	Washington ( USA )
3	06/23/1994	Italy	0: 1	Preliminary round	*	East Rutherford ( USA )
4th	06/28/1994	Ireland	0-0	Preliminary round	*	East Rutherford ( USA )
5	06/10/1998	Morocco	2: 2	Preliminary round	*	Montpellier ( FRA )	First international match against Morocco
6th	06/16/1998	Scotland	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Bordeaux ( FRA )
7th	06/23/1998	Brazil	2: 1	Preliminary round	*	Marseille ( FRA )
8th	06/27/1998	Italy	0: 1	Round of 16	*	Marseille ( FRA )

particularities

• In 1938 Norway was the first and until 2002 the only team to play their first game against the defending champions.

See also

• Norwegian national football team / European championships
• Norwegian Women's National Football Team / World Championships

Web links

• Football World - Statistics - Norway on fifa.com
• fifa.com: "Statistical overview: records and milestones"

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF; 200 kB)
2. ↑ Germany 0: 1 (0: 0) Norway