Solbakken insists Norway vs England is more than a Haaland-Kane duel at World Cup quarter-final

Norway manager Stale Solbakken has urged his players to focus on the team rather than the star-striker subplot when they face England in the World Cup quarter-final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday. Both Erling Haaland and Harry Kane arrive as leading Golden Boot contenders, but Solbakken insists the outcome will be decided by far more than the two forwards.

“I think it’s Norway versus England, but I don’t think it is a secret that Kane is the match-winner number one for England and Haaland is match-winner number one for us,” Solbakken said at a pre-match press conference. “But the most important thing for me is that we are ourselves with the ball, and that we concentrate on the pitch and play our playing style.”

Haaland heads into the tie in sharp form, having scored twice against Brazil in East Rutherford. Kane, meanwhile, netted a decisive penalty against co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca and had earlier struck a brace in England’s 2-1 comeback win over DR Congo. A place in the semi-finals — and the end of one striker’s tournament — awaits after the final whistle.

Solbakken offered a candid assessment of Haaland’s training habits, noting that the Manchester City forward’s appetite for goals does not always translate to the training pitch. “To be honest, that hunger is not that big when training. When he participates, he is hungry for goals, but on a couple of those training sessions, he hasn’t been all that hungry. I have to be honest,” he said.

The Norway head coach also acknowledged the breadth of threats within Thomas Tuchel’s squad, singling out Jude Bellingham and England’s wide players alongside Kane. “They can score from many positions. They have a great duo in the middle of the park — we need to compete there and we need to defend properly,” he added.

Norway have been managing a illness bug in camp ahead of the match. Defender Marcus Holmgren Pedersen, who missed the Brazil game, has returned to training, though Wolves left-back David Moller Wolfe is being monitored after being forced off late in Norway’s previous fixture at MetLife Stadium.

A semi-final berth would be the furthest Norway have ever progressed at a World Cup, while England are chasing a first triumph since their 1966 home victory.