World Cup: Norway boss Solbakken wants team to face England with courage in quarter-finals
By Joel Masibo, July 11, 2026Norway head coach Stale Solbakken has urged his players to remain faithful to their style of play as they prepare to face England in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on Sunday, July 12, 2026.
Addressing reporters before the highly anticipated encounter on Friday, July 10, 2026 Solbakken stressed that Norway’s success has come from staying true to its football philosophy and said that approach should not change.
“I would like to see a Norway team that play up to their strength and that we are ourselves, like we have been the whole tournament,” Solbakken said.
Norway will contest its first-ever World Cup quarterfinal at Miami Stadium, while England is appearing at this stage of the tournament for the third World Cup in a row.
England’s quality
The Norwegian coach praised England’s attacking quality, highlighting key players such as Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane as major threats.
“Obviously when you meet a team like England, who has great players on the wings, Bellingham, Kane, they can score from many positions,” he said. “We need to compete there, we need to defend properly. But the most important thing for me is that we are ourselves with the ball.”
Asked whether the contest would revolve around star strikers Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, Solbakken insisted the focus should remain on the collective effort.
“I think it’s Norway versus England, but I don’t think it’s a secret that Kane is the match winner No. 1 for England and Haaland is the match winner No. 1 for us,” he noted.
Haaland has been instrumental in Norway’s impressive campaign, scoring seven times in four matches to guide the nation into its first World Cup quarterfinal since returning to the tournament after a 28-year absence.
England captain Kane has also been in prolific form, netting six goals during the competition to raise his overall World Cup tally to 14.
Haaland described the upcoming encounter as both “special” and “funny” because he will face the country where he was born, as well as several of his Manchester City teammates, including Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and James Trafford.
Haaland on England’s game
“It’s a special game, yeah, definitely. I think for me it’s super special, because I play in England and I was born in England, and you also play against teammates and everything,” Haaland said. “It’s a funny game and it’s going to be nice.”
Despite acknowledging England’s strength, Solbakken said his squad believes it has what it takes to progress, provided every player delivers their best performance.
“The players deep down feel that they can beat England, but obviously we have to be at our very, very best. If we are not at our very, very best, England will go through,” the coach said.
“They are in a relaxed but competitive mood,” he added. “I don’t think that you could be at your very best if you don’t feel a little bit of pressure.” He said.