Norway at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
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Norway has participated in the qualification for 18 FIFA World Cup tournaments and have appeared in the main tournament four times, in 1938, 1994, 1998, and 2026. Their best result was Round of 16 in 1998.[1] They have the peculiar distinction of not losing any matches unless it was to Italy during the finals phase (losing to Italy in 1938 during round 1 in a straight knockout tie, being eliminated in the 1994 group stage from having the fewest number of goals scored after defeating Mexico, losing to Italy and drawing 0–0 with the Republic of Ireland which resulted in all four teams having 4 points and a 0-goal difference, and in 1998 drew with Scotland and Morocco before coming from behind to defeat Brazil 2–1 to advance to the round of 16 where they were defeated by Italy).
Record at the FIFA World Cup
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1930 | Did not enter | |||||||
 1934 | ||||||||
 1938 | Round of 16 | 12th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 1950 | Did not enter | |||||||
 1954 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 1958 | ||||||||
 1962 | ||||||||
 1966 | ||||||||
 1970 | ||||||||
 1974 | ||||||||
 1978 | ||||||||
 1982 | ||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
 1990 | ||||||||
 1994 | Group stage | 17th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 1998 | Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
  2002 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||
 2010 | ||||||||
 2014 | ||||||||
 2018 | ||||||||
 2022 | ||||||||
 2026 | Qualified | |||||||
  2030 | To be determined | |||||||
 2034 | ||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 4/23 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out
By match
| World Cup | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | Venue | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Round of 16 | Italy | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | L | Marseille | A. Brustad |
| 1994 | Group stage | Mexico | 1–0 | W | Washington, D.C. | K. Rekdal |
| Italy | 0–1 | L | East Rutherford | — | ||
 Republic of Ireland | 0–0 | D | East Rutherford | — | ||
| 1998 | Group stage | Morocco | 2–2 | D | Montpellier | Y. Chippo (o.g.), D. Eggen |
 Scotland | 1–1 | D | Bordeaux | H. Flo | ||
| Brazil | 2–1 | W | Marseille | T.A. Flo, K. Rekdal | ||
| Round of 16 | Italy | 0–1 | L | Marseille | — | |
| 2026 | Group stage |  Iraq | Foxborough | |||
 Senegal | East Rutherford | |||||
| France | Foxborough |
Record by opponent
Match records
1938 FIFA World Cup
Squad
First round
| 5 June 1938 | Italy | 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) |  Norway | Marseille, France |
| 17:00 (WEST) | Ferraris  2'Piola 94' |
(1–1, 1–0) Report (FIFA) |
83' Brustad |
Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Alois Beranek (Austria) |
1994 FIFA World Cup
Squad
Group stage
| 19 June 1994 | Norway | 1–0 | Mexico | Washington, D.C., USA |
| 16:00 (EDT) | Rekdal 84' |
(0–0) Report (FIFA) |
Stadium: RFK Stadium Attendance: 52,395 Referee: Sandor Puhl (Hungary) |
| 23 June 1994 | Italy | 1–0 | Norway | East Rutherford, NJ, USA |
| 16:00 (EDT) | Pagliuca  21'D. Baggio 69' |
(0–0) Report (FIFA) |
Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 74,624 Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany) |
| 28 June 1994 | Republic of Ireland | 0–0 | Norway | East Rutherford, NJ, USA |
| 12:30 (EDT) | Report (FIFA) | Stadium: Giants Stadium Attendance: 72,404 Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia) |
1998 FIFA World Cup
Squad
Group stage
| 10 June 1998 | Morocco | 2–2 | Norway | Montpellier, France |
| 21:00 CET | Hadji 37' Hadda 60' |
(1–1) Report (FIFA) |
45+1' (o.g.) Chippo 61' Eggen |
Stadium: Stade de la Mosson Attendance: 29,800 Referee: Pirom Un-Prasert (Thailand) |
| 16 June 1998 | Scotland | 1–1 | Norway | Bordeaux, France |
| 17:30 CET | Burley 66' |
(0–0) Report (FIFA) |
46' H. Flo |
Stadium: Stade du Parc Lescure Attendance: 31,800 Referee: László Vágner (Hungary) |
| 23 June 1998 | Brazil | 1–2 | Norway | Marseille, France |
| 21:00 CET | Bebeto 78' |
(0–0) Report (FIFA) |
83' T.A. Flo 89' (pen.) Rekdal |
Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Esse Baharmast (United States) |
Round of 16
| 27 June 1998 | Italy | 1–0 | Norway | Marseille, France |
| 16:30 CET | Vieri 18' |
(1–0) Report (FIFA) |
Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany) |
Norway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Senegal |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Iraq |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage based on ranking |
| 4 | Norway |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: June 16, 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Player records
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henning Berg | 7 | 1994 and 1998 |
| Stig Inge Bjørnebye | 7 | 1994 and 1998 | |
| Kjetil Rekdal | 7 | 1994 and 1998 | |
| 4 | Øyvind Leonhardsen | 6 | 1994 and 1998 |
| Erik Mykland | 6 | 1994 and 1998 | |
| 6 | Jostein Flo | 4 | 1994 and 1998 |
| Mini Jakobsen | 4 | 1994 and 1998 | |
| Dan Eggen | 4 | 1998 | |
| Håvard Flo | 4 | 1998 | |
| Tore André Flo | 4 | 1998 | |
| Frode Grodås | 4 | 1998 | |
| Ronny Johnsen | 4 | 1998 | |
| Vidar Riseth | 4 | 1998 | |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kjetil Rekdal | 2 | 1994 and 1998 |
| 2 | Arne Brustad | 1 | 1938 |
| Dan Eggen | 1 | 1998 | |
| Håvard Flo | 1 | 1998 | |
| Tore André Flo | 1 | 1998 | |