Haaland and Norway teammates attend ice hockey match ahead of World Cup opener against Iraq
By BBC, June 12, 2026Erling Haaland swapped the football pitch for the ice rink as he and his Norway team-mates took in a Stanley Cup match.
The Norway contingent provided lively support for the Carolina Hurricanes in game five of the NHL playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
The Manchester City forward, who will make his long-awaited World Cup debut against Iraq on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, cut a relaxed figure at the Lenovo Centre in Raleigh, waving to the crowd when the Norway team appeared on the scoreboard screen and swinging a Hurricanes rally towel around his head.
Arriving at the game in a grey polo shirt, he was later filmed beaming in a white and red Hurricanes jersey emblazoned with the number nine – the same number he wears for both club and country.
The Hurricanes, targeting their first Stanley Cup crown for 20 years, lead the Golden Knights 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, completing a 4-2 regulation win in game five.
Norway are playing at their first World Cup since 1998 and their first major tournament since Euro 2000, and has already made a mark despite not starting their campaign until next Tuesday.
Epic photoshoot
The squad donned authentic Viking dress for an epic send-off photograph by acclaimed British photographer David Yarrow, titled The Vikings Are Coming, and have also paid tribute to their players’ roots with a team photo featuring the shirts of their first clubs.
Norway are based in Greensboro, North Carolina, about 80 miles from the Hurricanes’ Raleigh home, for the duration of the tournament, with the opportunity to watch the blue ribbon event of the NHL season coming less than a fortnight after the men’s national ice hockey team shocked Canada in overtime to clinch the bronze medal at the World Championships.
After facing Iraq in their World Cup opener in Boston, Norway travel to New Jersey to play Senegal, on Tuesday, June, 23, 2026, before returning to Boston for a meeting with France on Friday, June 26