Norway chose calculation over spectacle after leaving Erling Haaland out against France at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

This is what the coach said about resting his star striker in the group stage clash against France.

In a night where Norway fell 1-4 to France, the main storyline was not the scoreline, but the absence of Erling Haaland. The Manchester City striker remained on the bench by tactical decision from head coach Ståle Solbakken, in a move that prioritized squad management over the immediate impact of his biggest star. Fans were left without the highly anticipated showdown between “The Android” and Kylian Mbappé.

THE EXPLANATION

Solbakken explained that leaving Haaland out of the starting XI was due to accumulated fatigue after the previous match against Senegal and Norway’s already secured qualification to the round of 16. The coach made ten changes to his lineup, arguing that several players were not in optimal condition to match France’s intensity. In that context, the tournament’s most feared No. 9 was rested—almost like a luxury kept aside for a better occasion.

“I understand that both in Norway and here many fans wanted to see Erling (Haaland) and Martin (Ødegaard), but we are here to go as far as possible. For us, it was an obvious decision,” the Norwegian coach said in his post-match press conference.

“We could compete today, of course, but our goal is to win and keep advancing. Thinking especially about the next match, the decision was clear. I hope that thanks to this decision we can give the fans many more happy nights in the coming weeks,” he added.

The result was clear: Norway lost attacking depth, ability to pin back defenders, and above all that constant sense of danger that forces any back line to drop several meters just by reputation alone.

FRANCE SHOWED NO MERCY

Without the Norwegian striker on the pitch, France took control from the start and punished every defensive lapse with ruthless efficiency. The absence of their main attacking reference quickly became the dominant talking point, especially as the scoreline grew with little resistance in the opposition box.

Solbakken defended his decision as “obvious” and aimed at reaching the decisive stages in better condition. The irony, however, lingered: Norway chose to face one of the tournament favorites without the one player capable of changing a match in a single moment.