Erling Haaland Drops Quiet Warning Before Norway's World Cup Clash With France

The 2026 FIFAWorld Cup is loaded with players to watch, from legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to young superstars like Lamine Yamal and Vinícius Júnior.

Yet, two names still stand above the rest, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe is the favorite to win the Golden Boot after winning it in 2022 in Qatar, and Haaland is right behind him after another incredible Premier League season. Both are in their mid-20s and coming off dominant campaigns, Mbappe with Real Madrid, scoring 25 goals and four assists in 26 games, and Haaland with Manchester City, netting 27 goals and eight assists in 34 games.

England’s Harry Kane, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal, and Germany’s Kai Havertz round out the list of Golden Boot contenders, but with Mbappe and Haaland being in the same group, they’ve drawn the most attention. France is set to take on Norway on June 26.

This will be Norway’s first World Cup since 1998 and Haaland’s debut on soccer‘s biggest stage. France, meanwhile, will be looking to avenge their 2022 World Cup final loss to Argentina, where Mbappe scored a hat trick in one of the best tournament finals in history.

With just over a week before the two sides face off, Haaland, speaking in an exclusive interview with ESPN, addressed what’s at stake.

“I think it’s a tough group,” Haaland said. “I think every team that is in the World Cup has something special, and you need to be good enough to qualify. It’s going to be tough … Also, every World Cup you have a few teams that you don’t maybe expect to do this or that, and then suddenly they just manage to do something incredible, like you remember with Saudi what they did against Argentina (in 2022). They won against Argentina, but Argentina then go on and win the whole World Cup. The World Cup is something special because of this as well.”

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Group I consists of France, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. Norway opens on Tuesday, June 16, against Iraq in Boston, faces Senegal at MetLife Stadium on June 22, and then closes the group stage against France at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on June 26.

Norway’s match against France is widely referred to as the “group decider,” a match that could determine which team finishes at the top and secures a favorable position in the knockout rounds.

Haaland’s words ahead of the match are careful and respectful. But the message is clear, don’t sleep on Norway.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 2:31 PM.