After 28 long years away from football’s biggest stage, Norway have finally returned to the World Cup and are dreaming of making history.
Their last appearance came at France 98, a tournament that still holds a special place in Norwegian football folklore for more than one reason.
It was at that World Cup where Norway produced one of the tournament’s great upsets, beating eventual runners-up Brazil in the group stage.
Now, in a remarkable twist of fate, Norway face Brazil once again in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup, reigniting that famous rivalry from nearly three decades ago.
Since 1998, Norway have endured a prolonged absence from the World Cup, a painful stretch that tested the patience of an entire nation of football supporters.
There were moments during those 28 years when qualification seemed further away than ever, and many wondered if the national team would ever return to the global stage.
That long wait has now ended, and Norway have already made history by winning a World Cup knockout match for the first time in the country’s football history.
The victory in the last 16 to set up the Brazil clash represents uncharted territory for Norwegian football, with no previous generation having reached this stage of a World Cup.
A place in the quarter-finals would be the greatest achievement in the history of Norwegian international football, surpassing anything the nation has previously managed at a major tournament.
The matchup against Brazil carries enormous symbolic weight, offering Norway the chance to repeat the heroics of France 98 against the very same opposition on an even bigger occasion.
For a country that has spent the better part of three decades watching World Cups from afar, the scale of what is unfolding is difficult to overstate.
Norwegian football fans, who endured qualification heartbreak after heartbreak across multiple cycles, are now daring to believe that their biggest-ever party is only just getting started.
