With their efforts at the World Cup, Norway appears as a nation united in purpose.
Norway, a country with a population nearly equal to Scotland's, has emerged as a football powerhouse at the World Cup, and this success extends beyond Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City striker, who has scored seven goals in the tournament, is a prominent figure for the team alongside Martin Odegaard, who captains both Arsenal and the Norwegian national team.
However, they are not the only successful products of Norway's youth football system. Of the 26-man World Cup squad, 17 players compete in Europe’s top four leagues: the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A.
Most of these players were developed through Norway’s national youth football training system, the National Team School (NTS), established in 2013.
The comparison with Scotland, a nation of similar size, is stark. Both countries experienced a 28-year absence from the World Cup following the 1998 finals in France. While Scotland, under Steve Clarke, did not progress beyond the group stage in 2026, Norway will face England in the quarter-final after defeating Ivory Coast and Brazil in the knockout rounds.
Hakon Grottland, head of player development at the Norwegian Football Federation, stated that the current success is the culmination of over two decades of strategic planning to transform Norway, traditionally known for winter sports, into a football nation.
"When I started with the football federation in 2010, it was my dream that Norway could compete at the World Cup because we had too many years of talking about 1998," he told .
Grottland attributes Norway’s rise to two primary factors: investment in artificial pitches between 2000 and 2010, and a coaching revolution sparked by the establishment of the NTS.
Gambling proceeds help provide sports facilities
Since 2000, Norway has invested heavily in artificial pitches. Between 2016 and 2025, 539 artificial pitches were constructed, with an additional 586 undergoing renovation.
Given Norway’s harsh winters, this development had a significant impact.
"Football in Norway went from a summer sport to a whole year-round sport," explained Grottland. "Back in my day, we had to play on horrible pitches in the winter, on ice and things like that."
During the 1990s, Norway was known for an effective but pragmatic defensive style of football. Playing on consistent, artificial surfaces has contributed to a more technical style, exemplified by captain Odegaard, aged 27.
"It's partly about artificial pitches, but it's also about influences," added Grottland.
"Everyone wanted something a little bit different. But now, this has gone too far because we don't create enough defenders."
Norway is among the world’s wealthiest countries due to its substantial oil reserves, the largest in Europe after Russia.
The strength of its economy, measured per capita, is nearly twice that of the UK and exceeds that of the US.
A unique aspect of Norway’s funding for domestic sport is its use of gambling revenue. Betting is strictly regulated, and the state-owned operator Norsk Tipping donates 64% of its proceeds to sports, primarily for facilities.
In 2026, Norsk Tipping generated over 2 billion Norwegian kroner (£152.7 million) for sports facilities.
Can Scotland learn from history-making Norway?
'I've never seen anyone like Odegaard as a child'
Alongside the development of artificial pitches, Grottland highlighted a "revolution" between 2010 and 2020, during which Norwegian football’s top clubs, federations, and districts heavily invested in player development.
After failing to qualify for Euro 2012, the Norwegian Football Federation established Landslagsskolen, known as the NTS, in 2013.
Of the 15 players who featured in Norway’s 2-1 victory over Brazil, 14 had represented Norway at youth level, and 11 had progressed through the NTS pathway from under-15 or under-16 levels.
Grottland clarified that the NTS is not an academy or centralized school like France’s Clairefontaine but a national development structure connecting grassroots clubs, districts, top clubs, and the federation.
"It's not like in other countries where the top clubs are working on talent development and the grassroots clubs are just having fun," he added.
"In Norway, everyone's in it together."
The importance of this grassroots system was acknowledged by the national team before the World Cup when the squad posed for a team photograph wearing kits from their first clubs.
In England, many promising talents join Premier League academies at age eight, but in Norway, children remain with their grassroots clubs until age 12.
"One important part of the philosophy is that we are not trying to close doors too early," said Grottland.
He cited Haaland, aged 25, as an example of this philosophy’s success:
"He was part of national talent camps within the National Team School (NTS) structure from the age of 14, but at that time nobody thought he would become the best player in that age group."
The one player Grottland was certain about from a young age was Odegaard, admitting the entire NTS philosophy was inspired by encountering him at age 11.
Having been sought by Europe’s leading clubs, Odegaard signed for Real Madrid at 16 for 4 million euros (£3.4 million).
"In Norway, a talented player is a player who loves the game the most - a player who has ownership for his own development and who takes ownership for the team's development," added Grottland.
"We don't measure ball handling and speed and things like that. We start with: 'does the player love this game?'"
"That was inspired by Odegaard - I've never seen anyone like him as a child."
The Norway story - 28-year wait for the biggest party in history
No player is bigger than the team
The most important lessons the NTS instills, according to Grottland, are "safety, security and togetherness."
"This is what we're seeing as a result at the World Cup. No one player is bigger than the team."
For him, the Norwegian spirit is symbolized by the Viking row that has taken over Times Square and stadiums during this summer’s World Cup — a clear example of a nation united.
"The rowing, it's about togetherness," he added.
The question remains whether the NTS can also strengthen Norway’s domestic league.
Only four players from Stale Solbakken’s squad play in Norway, three of whom represent Bodo/Glimt, whose remarkable Champions League run to the last 16 last season may indicate a promising future.
"One of our main goals in Norwegian football is to produce and sell players to the big leagues," said Grottland.
"At the same time, the last couple of years, our own league developed. The two things work together."
Norway manager Solbakken told :
"We have players who are around 30 or older, we have players who are around 18 and 20 and then players who are in the middle who are peaking.
"I don't know if it's a generation but it's hard work from the clubs, hard work from the federation."
What Haaland's home town did when Norway beat Brazil
- How to watch the World Cup on the BBC and ITV
- Everything you need to know about the World Cup
