Overview
- Solbakken rested Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard for the June 26 group finale against France after a team review found several players were 'very affected' late in the prior match.
- Norway lost the match 4-1 but had already secured knockout qualification and will meet Ivory Coast in the first knockout game in Arlington, Texas.
- Many fans vocally protested at the stadium, chanting 'We want Haaland,' though Haaland stayed calm on the bench and joined team rituals before and after the game.
- Haaland entered the tournament in prolific form, scoring four goals in two matches and remaining one of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot.
- Off the field, Haaland-linked Sorare NFTs have seen large trades—reports cite individual cards selling for as much as 265 ETH—while small community meme tokens using his name have shown brief speculative spikes and very low market caps with no official endorsements.