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By Megan Armstrong
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Norway had not appeared in the men's World Cup since 1998 before dazzling at the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup over the past month. The Herrelandslaget had never won a knockout stage match, and then they beat Ivory Coast in the Round of 32 last week. By upsetting Brazil in the Round of 16, thanks to two Erling Haaland goals, Norway is in the quarterfinal for the first time ever.
It's not all a fairytale, however.
"In the aftermath of their scalp of Brazil — and the proceeding night out — fears of fatigue and illness are reported to be causing distress in the Norwegian camp," Gethin Hicks reported for the Daily Mail on Tuesday, July 7.
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Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet noted that manager Ståle Solbakken allowed players to "go out and enjoy themselves" and downplayed health concerns.
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"We've really only had Jørgen [Strand Larsen] who has had a fever, but then there's been a bit of coughing and rasping evenly, scattered throughout," Solbakken said. "But there's air conditioning, flights, changing rooms and all that. We're over 50 people so it would be strange if one or the other didn't come."
Norway will face England in Miami on Saturday, July 11. England had to venture to the vaunted Azteca and beat Mexico to reach the quarterfinal, so the Three Lions will have conditioning obstacles of their own this week.
Hopefully, Norway and England will be as close to 100% as possible once they take the field and, with stars like Haaland, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham, produce a World Cup fireworks show for the ages.
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