Haaland On Bench: Norway Rotated Ahead Of World Cup Showdown Against France
Erling Haaland will start on the bench as coach Ståle Solbakken rotates Norway's starting lineup for the final group game against France at the Boston Stadium, after securing their advancement to the round of 32.
Erling Haaland, the star of Norway, will start on the bench for the final Group I match of the World Cup against Kylian Mbappé and France on Friday at the Boston Stadium.
After securing two wins in the first two games and officially advancing to the round of 32, coach Ståle Solbakken opted to rotate the team for the group decider. According to the report, Solbakken made ten changes to the starting lineup — a decision that suggests the coach is prioritizing the health and recovery of key players over guaranteeing a top seed in Group I.
Haaland has four goals in two games for Norway and is third-best odds (+650) for the Golden Boot, trailing only Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi at the bookmakers. Haaland has shown clinical scoring: he had a brace against Iraq in Norway's opener and followed up with another brace against Senegal on Monday.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2026/06/1408/814/haaland1-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>Haaland's statistics for the national team are impressive: he has scored in his last 12 competitive matches for Norway and has scored in at least one of his last 21 competitive games for the country (18 of 21). Additionally, he is the sixth player to score more than one goal in each of his first two World Cup appearances and only the second to do so in the last 50 years, following Harry Kane in 2018.
Haaland's impact on Norway's results is also historic: Norway has won 15 consecutive matches when Haaland has scored and is undefeated every time he has had a multi-goal game — 17 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses.
Solbakken's decision to bench Haaland will give other players a chance while maintaining the star striker's condition for the knockout phase. The match against France at the Boston Stadium will decide who will top Group I, but both teams are locked in two wins before meeting up.
