Norway vs England: Erling Haaland vs Harry Kane
Duel the best striker, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, when Norway face England in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup at the Miami Stadium, Miami, United States, Sunday, July 12, 2026 WIB. Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken said the duel would present the sharpness of the two attackers.
Haaland immediately soared in his debut at the World Cup. The Manchester City striker managed to score seven goals during his first four appearances at the world's most prestigious football tournament. Including two goals against Brazil which brought Norway to a 2-1 victory to qualify for the quarter finals.
This is Norway's highest achievement in the World Cup. In the last appearance at the 1998 World Cup, the real Norway was filled with a row of star players, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Henning Berg, Ronny Johnsen, Tore Andre Flo to Solbakken himself, only able to survive until the last 16.
After 28 years, Norway and Haaland are starting to be taken into account in the 2026 World Cup. The success of eliminating Brazil makes The Vikings a dark horse that should be wary of.
This time, they meet England who have Kane. Yes, the captain of The Three Lions has scored three goals. Now, Kane, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker who has been successful at Bayern Munich has collected 14 goals during his appearance at the World Cup.
"In my opinion, the Norway vs. England match will be their fight. It's no secret that Kane is England's number one winner. While Haaland is our winning factor," said Solbakken.
Even though he is facing a tough opponent again, Solbakken is still optimistic that Norway can make a surprise. Moreover, England will be under pressure because of their status as the top team. On the other hand, Martin Odegaard et al are more relaxed and will play without burden as when facing Brazil.
"Every game is of course very important in Norwegian football history, especially after we entered the knockout round. And, this is the third [match against England in the knockout round] that is very important," he said again.
"In this match, England was under greater pressure than us. Of course we also got pressure with our performance. When the match started, the players certainly no longer thought about the pressure," he said.
Norway itself has done more light training after fighting against Brazil. According to Solbakken, his players are in good condition and only need recovery before facing England.
"We do more light training. We don't train hard and focus more on tactics. We train at a slower pace and don't train for a long time. So, the players stay fit," he said.
England, who worked hard to eliminate one of the hosts Mexico with a score of 3-2, is likely to remain strengthened by Declan Rice and Marc Guehi. Both suffered minor injuries and were absent from Wednesday's training.
But they and defender James Reece have finally returned to training. The presence of Reece, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, has given manager Thomas Tuchel a welcome boost.
Previously, the Chelsea captain was absent for three matches due to the injury he suffered. If he recovers and can play, he will replace Jarell Quansah who received a red card against Mexico.
In the match against Norway, Guehi who plays at Man City will take on an important task. He is prepared to shut down Haaland, his colleague at the club. A task that was not carried out by Arsenal defender Gabriel who made Brazil return early.