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Haaland has won two Premier League titles and the Champions League, along with individual honors in Austria, Germany, and England. Yet for a long time, the Manchester City striker felt that something was missing.​
In November in Milan, that feeling finally disappeared after a 4-1 victory over Italy secured Norway's place at the 2026 World Cup. It will be Haaland's first major international tournament and Norway's first World Cup appearance in 28 years.​
Haaland played a crucial role in qualification, scoring 16 goals during UEFA qualifying—eight more than any other player—and doing so in just eight matches. He even scored twice within two minutes in the final game at San Siro.​
This summer, he will fulfill a dream he had started to fear might never come true. In an exclusive interview with ESPN before the tournament, Haaland admitted that his already remarkable career would have felt incomplete if he had not helped Norway return to football's biggest stage.​
"Yeah, definitely," Haaland said. "It felt missing in 2022 in Qatar and also in the Euros in 2024. So now it finally happened, and it was about time.​
"It was a lot of pressure. It is a lot of pressure now still, but yeah, I could feel it ever since I started with the national team, the pressure [to get to a World Cup]. The more time I've been there, the more pressure, of course, on my shoulders. But again, even better that we managed to do it, and it's an amazing feeling.​
"To qualify for the World Cup is a really special thing. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be amazing. Finally."​
The importance of qualification is not lost on Haaland. Growing up in Bryne, in southern Norway, he never had the opportunity to watch his own country compete at a World Cup. His memories of the tournament are instead connected to unforgettable moments from other nations.​
After making his senior international debut in 2019, he was part of squads that failed to qualify for Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Euro 2024 in Germany.​
By reaching their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup, this Norway squad—which also includes Martin Ødegaard and Alexander Sørloth—has given a new generation of Norwegian supporters the chance to cheer for their own team on football's biggest stage.​
"I never experienced Norway being at a World Cup in my lifetime," Haaland said.​
"Of course, I would have liked them to be in the World Cup, but I don't have any experience of it. I'm just happy now that we qualified, and all the young Norwegian kids can experience how it is to have their country there, and for sure they will remember these moments as well.​
"I remember the 2010 opening game [between South Africa and Mexico] and in 2014 when James Rodríguez was amazing. You have these things that you remember from the World Cup, and hopefully, now we can be a part of these amazing moments.​
"I want to create something special there together with the whole nation, and hopefully we can make that happen."​
Haaland was born in Leeds, England, in 2000 while his father, Alfie, was playing professional football. Although he was eligible to represent England through dual nationality, Haaland has always felt deeply connected to Norway.​
Before departing for their training base in Greensboro, North Carolina, Norway's squad participated in a unique farewell photo shoot. Instead of the traditional airport picture, the players wore Viking clothing while standing beside a Norwegian fjord.​
The image was titled "The Vikings are coming," and for Haaland, it represented far more than social media content.​
His pride in Norway's culture and history runs deep. In March, he spent 1.3 million Norwegian krones ($136,000) to purchase a rare Viking-era book. The book, the only surviving copy of a work by 13th-century historian Snorri Sturluson printed in 1594, was donated to a library in Bryne so the public could view it.​
"I'm proud to be a Norwegian," Haaland said. "There's a lot of history in Norway as a country, and that's why I did it."​
With the World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the tournament also carries special family significance.​
Alfie Haaland was part of Norway's squad at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Norway played two matches in New Jersey during that tournament, including a 1-0 loss to Italy and a scoreless draw against the Republic of Ireland.​
Now Haaland will return to East Rutherford—this time at MetLife Stadium rather than Giants Stadium—to face Senegal in Norway's second Group I match.​
"Of course, it's a special thing," he said. "It's special that he played in the World Cup as well for Norway, especially in the US, so it makes it more special.​
"The plan is to get a lot of people over and to be a part of this and to watch the games, and that is something I think he has in his mind for sure."​
Norway's third group match against France has already been identified as one of the standout fixtures of the group stage.​
Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, two of football's biggest stars, have faced each other at club level in Champions League meetings between Manchester City and Real Madrid. On June 26, they will meet for the first time in international football at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.​
"I think it's a tough group," said Haaland, who arrives at the tournament with 55 international goals in just 50 appearances.​
"I think every team that is in the World Cup has something special, and you need to be good enough to qualify. It's going to be tough.​
"Every single game is going to be tough, and also every World Cup you have a few teams that you don't maybe expect to do this or that, and then suddenly they just manage to do something incredible, like you remember with Saudi what they did against Argentina [in 2022].​
"They won against Argentina, but Argentina then go on and win the whole World Cup. The World Cup is something special because of this as well."​
Back at the World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades, Norway are considered dark horses by many observers. Reaching the knockout stage would surpass what Alfie's team achieved in 1994, while advancing to the round of 16 would match Norway's best World Cup finish, achieved in 1998 when current coach Stale Solbakken was still a player.​
Could Norway even reach a first-ever World Cup semifinal?​
Haaland is not interested in setting targets.​
"I haven't thought too much about that because my main goal was to qualify," he said. "Honestly, now I'll take everything as a bonus."​
After spending his childhood watching other nations compete, simply reaching the World Cup means the leading figure of Norway's golden generation has already achieved a dream.