2026 FIFA WORLD CUP  PREVIEW: NORWAY WILL BATTLE IT OUT WITH ENGLAND ON SATURDAY FOR ONE OF THE SEMI-FINAL SPOTS 

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike)

Predictions: Away win/draw 

• Norway and England are set to face off in their historic first-ever FIFA World Cup meeting on July 11, 2026, in the Quarter-finals at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, in the United States.

• Head-to-Head

• May 14, 1937 (International friendly) 
Norway                         0-6 England

• November 9, 1938 (International friendly) 
England                         4-0 Norway

• May 18, 1949 (International friendly) 
Norway                         1-4 England

• June 29, 1966 (International friendly) 
Norway                         1-6 England

• September 10, 1980 (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers) 
England                         4-0 Norway

• September 9, 1981 (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers) 
Norway                         2-1 England

• October 14, 1992 (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers) 
England                         1-1 Norway

• June 2, 1993 (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers) 
Norway                         2-0 England

• May 22, 1994 (International friendly) 
England                         0-0 Norway

• October 11, 1995 (International friendly) 
Norway                         0-0 England

• May 26, 2012 (International friendly) 
Norway                         0-1 England

• September 3, 2014 (International friendly) 
England                         1-0 Norway

Total matches played     - 12
Norway wins                    - 2
Goals scored                    - 7
England wins                    - 7
Goals scored                    - 28
Drawn games                   - 3

• The teams haven't played since a friendly in September 2014, where England secured a 1-0 win in London.

• Recent Performance:

• Norway's Recent Performance:

• Norway won 2-1 against Brazil in their Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 5 at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

• Norway have won four, drawn one and lost one in their last six games in all competitions. The Norwegian side scored 13 and conceded 10 in those games. They had five first-half goals, while their opponents netted five times in the first 45 minutes. 

• England's Recent Performance:

• The Three Lions of England have won five (5) and drawn one in their last six games in all competitions. The English side scored 14 and conceded five (5) in that period, netting first in four of the six. They had five goals in the first half, while their opponents scored four times before the break.

• There have been 285 goals scored in 98 matches for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, for an average of 2.91 goals per match (as of July 10, 2026).

• A total of 8 players from Norway and England have scored 22 goals combined in the ongoing FIFA World Cup:

• 7 goals (1 player)
• Erling Haaland (Norway)

• 6 goals (1 player)
• Harry Kane (England)

• 4 goals (1 player)
• Jude Bellingham (England)

• 1 goal (5 players)
• Thelo Aasgaard (Norway)
• Antonio Nusa (Norway)
• Leo Ostigard (Norway)
• Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (Norway)
• Marcus Rashford (England)

• Match Facts:

• The Great Warriors of the cold/the Vikings of Norway are ranked 31st in the FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 2nd in October 1993, July-August 1995.

• Their first international game was July 12, 1908 (Sweden 11-3 Norway) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

• The Three Lions of England are ranked 4th by the FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 3rd in August - September 2012, September - October 2021, and November 2023.

• Their first international game was November 30, 1872 (Scotland 0-0 England) in Partick, Scotland.

• Player Records:

• Norway's most-capped player: John Arne Riise (110 caps, 16goals).

• England's most-capped player: Peter Shelton [GK] (125 caps, 0 goals)

• Norway's all-time top scorer: Erling Haaland (62 goals, 54 caps).

• England's all-time top scorer: Harry Kane (85 goals, 119 caps).

• Team Information:

• Norway is located in Europe and is part of the UEFA Confederation.

• England is located in Europe and is part of the UEFA Confederation.

• The Football Association of Norway was founded on September 30, 1902, but joined FIFA in 1908 and became a founding member of UEFA in 1954.

• The Football Association (FA) in England was officially formed on October 26, 1863, but joined FIFA in 1906 and UEFA in 1954.

• Norway first appeared at the 1938 FIFA World Cup, which was a single-elimination tournament, and Norway lost 2-1 a.e.t. at the Round of 16 stage to Italy.

• The first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for the Norway national team is Arne Brustad in a 2-1 loss to Italy on June 5, 1938, at Stade Velodrome, Marseille in France.

• Norway recorded their first-ever win at the FIFA World Cup on June 19, 1994 (32 years ago) in a Group E fixture on Match Day 1 against Mexico (1-0) at the RFK Stadium, Washington in the United States.

• The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament marks Norway's 4th appearance at the FIFA World Cup (1938, 1994, 1998, 2026).

• In the 1998 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Norway finished second in Group A that had Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland but lost the Round of 16 fixture against Italy (1-0).

• The Vikings of Norway have qualified for the knock-out stages 3 out of 4 appearances in the history of the FIFA World Cup (Round of 16 in 1938 and 1998, and Quarter-finals in 2026).

 • The Norwegian team is undergoing their deepest run at the FIFA World Cup, advancing to the Quarter-finals for the first time in their history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Norway have played 13 FIFA World Cup games at the tournament since the 1938 edition (W6 D3 L4 GF19 GA17).

• The Three Lions of England's first participation in the FIFA World Cup tournament was the 1950 edition, and they were eliminated at the group stages.

• The first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for England was Stan Mortensen in a 2-0 win over Chile on June 25, 1950, at Estadio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro.

• England lost their first FIFA World Cup game at the tournament on June 29, 1950, in a 1-0 loss to the United States at the Estadio Independencia, Belo Horizonte.

• England's first participation at the Quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup was the 1954 edition when they lost 4-2 to Uruguay.

• Only Brazil (14) and Germany (14) have qualified for more FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals than England, with this set to be their 11th appearance at this stage in the competition, but the Three Lions have progressed from just three out of the ten previous knock-out matches:
• 26/06/1954 Uruguay 4-2 England (Quarter-finals) [1954 FIFA World Cup] 
• 10/06/1962 Brazil    3-1 England (Quarter-finals) [1962 FIFA World Cup]
• 23/07/1966 England 1-0 Argentina (Quarter-finals) [1966 FIFA World Cup]
• 14/06/1970 West Germany 3-2 England a.e.t. (Quarter-finals) [1970 FIFA World Cup]
• 22/06/1986 Argentina 2-1 England (Quarter-finals) [1986 FIFA World Cup]
• 01/07/1990 Cameroon 2-3 England a.e.t. (Quarter-finals) [1990 World Cup]
• 21/06/2002 England 1-2 Brazil (Quarter-finals) [2002 FIFA World Cup]
• 01/07/2006 England 0-0 Portugal a.e.t. [1-3p] (Quarter-finals) [2006 FIFA World Cup]
• 07/07/2018 Sweden 0-2 England (Quarter-finals) [2018 FIFA World Cup]
• 10/12/2022 England 1-2 France (Quarter-finals) [2022 FIFA World Cup]

• Two Nations' FIFA World Cup games against European opponents:

• Norway have failed to win any of their six (6) FIFA World Cup games against fellow European opponents (D2 L4 GF3 GA9) :
• 05/06/1938 Italy       2-1 Norway a.e.t. (Round of 16) [1938 FIFA World Cup]
• 23/06/1994 Italy       1-0 Norway (Group Stage) [1994 FIFA World Cup]
• 28/06/1994 Republic of Ireland 0-0 Norway (Group Stage) [1994 FIFA World Cup]
• 16/06/1998 Scotland 1-1 Norway (Group Stage) [1998 FIFA World Cup]
• 27/06/1998 Italy       1-0 Norway (Round of 16) [1998 FIFA World Cup]
• 26/06/2026 Norway 1-4 France (Group Stage) [2026 FIFA World Cup]

• The Three Lions of England have been eliminated from five of their last six FIFA World Cup knock-out stage matches against European opponents, and each of their last three in succession:
• 15/06/2002 Denmark 0-3 England (Round of 16) [2002 FIFA World Cup]
• 01/07/2006 England 0-0 Portugal a.e.t. [1-3p] (Quarter-finals) [2006 FIFA World Cup]
• 27/06/2010 Germany 4-1 England (Round of 16) [2010 FIFA World Cup]
• 07/07/2018 Sweden 0-2 England (Quarter-finals) [2018 FIFA World Cup]
• 07/07/2018 Croatia 2-1 England a.e.t. (Quarter-finals) [2018 FIFA World Cup]
• 10/12/2022 England 1-2 France (Quarter-finals) [2022 FIFA World Cup]

• Two Nations' FIFA World Cup games on Saturday:

• Norway lost their only previous FIFA World Cup game played on Saturday since 1938:
• 27/06/1998 Italy       1-0 Norway (Round of 16) [1998 FIFA World Cup]

• England have played 15 FIFA World Cup games on Saturday since 1950 (W8 D2 L5 GF24 GA14):
• 26/06/1954 Uruguay 4-2 England (Quarter-finals) [1954 FIFA World Cup]
• 02/06/1962 England 3-1 Argentina (Group Stage) [1962 FIFA World Cup] 
• 16/07/1966 England 2-0 Mexico (Group Stage) [1966 World Cup]
• 23/07/1966 England 1-0 Argentina (Quarter-finals) [1966 FIFA World Cup]
• 30/07/1966 England 4-2 West Germany a.e.t. (Final) 1966 FIFA World Cup]
• 16/06/1990 England 0-0 Netherlands (Group Stage) [1990 FIFA World Cup]
• 07/07/1990 Italy       2-1 England (Third-place) [1990 FIFA World Cup]
• 15/06/2002 Denmark 0-3 England (Round of 16) [2002 FIFA World Cup]
• 10/06/2006 England 1-0 Paraguay (Group Stage) [2006 FIFA World Cup]
• 01/07/2006 England 0-0 Portugal a e.t. [1-3p] (Quarter-finals) [2006 FIFA World Cup]
• 12/06/2010 England 1-1 United States (Group Stage) [2010 FIFA World Cup]
• 14/06/2014 England 1-2 Italy (Group Stage) [2014 FIFA World Cup]
• 07/07/2018 Sweden 0-2 England (Quarter-finals) [2018 FIFA World Cup]
• 10/12/2022 England 1-2 France (Quarter-finals) [2022 FIFA World Cup]
• 27/06/2026 Panama 0-2 England (Group Stage) [2026 FIFA World Cup]

• Center Referee: Clement Turpin (France)

• Clement Turpin was born on May 16, 1982 in France and has been listed as a FIFA referee to officiate international matches since 2010, UEFA Elite Group referee since 2012.

• FIFA World Cup matches officiated by Clement Turpin so far:

• June 20, 2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
Venue: Rostov Arena, Russia 
Uruguay                        1-0 Saudi Arabia 

• June 27, 2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Russia 
Switzerland                  2-2 Costa Rica 

• November 24, 2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 
Uruguay                        0-0 South Korea 

• November 29, 2022 (Group Stage)
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 
Ecuador                         1-2 Senegal 

• December 5, 2022 (Round of 16) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar 
Brazil                             4-1 South Korea 

• June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: AT & T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA
England                         4-2 Croatia 

• June 25, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California, USA
Paraguay                      0-0 Australia 

• July 3, 2026 (Round of 32) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Kansas City Stadium 
Colombia                      1-0 Ghana 

• Clement Turpin is yet to issue a red card in any of his FIFA World Cup games officiated so far in his career since 2018 (8 games) but has issued 18 yellow cards. Breakdown of the yellow cards by years:
• 2018 - 6 yellow cards 
• 2022 - 5 yellow cards 
• 2026 - 7 yellow cards

• This fixture will be the first time a referee from France will officiate a Norway game at the FIFA World Cup tournament since 1938.

• This fixture will be the second time Clement Turpin will officiate an England game at the FIFA World Cup, but the seventh time a referee from France will officiate the Three Lions of England game at the FIFA World Cup since their maiden participation in 1950 (W3 L3 GF12 GA10):

• 10/06/1962 (Quarter-finals) [1962 FIFA World Cup]
Brazil                             3-1 England 
Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)

• 26/07/1966 (Semi-Finals)
England                         2-1 Portugal 
Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)

• 11/06/1970 (Group Stage)
England                         1-0 Czechoslovakia 
Referee: Roger Machin (France)

• 07/07/1990 (Third-place) [1990 FIFA World Cup]
Italy                                2-1 England 
Referee: Joel Quiniou (France)

• 22/06/1998 (Group Stage) [1998 FIFA World Cup]
Romania                       2-1 England 
Referee: Marc Batta (France)

• 17/06/2026 (Group Stage)
England                         4-2 Croatia 
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)

• England have scored in each of their previous FIFA World Cup games in which a referee from France has officiated (scoring 10 goals in 6 games).