Who: Norway vs Portugal
What: UEFA Nations League 2026-2027, Group A4 match
Where: Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway
When: Sunday at 7:45pm (18:45 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.
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Sport → follow → GMT
Record two-time UEFA Nations League champions Portugal continue their title defence on matchday two with a trip to Oslo against an exciting Norway side.
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Portugal → continue → side
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Verde → regret → scare
After starting their campaign with a 1-0 home win over Wales, holders Portugal face their first big test of the competition on Sunday against the Norwegians, who defied expectations with a historic quarterfinal finish at this year’s FIFA World Cup.
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who → start → Cup
Spearheaded by Erling Haaland, arguably one of Europe’s most dangerous strikers, and captained by midfield maestro Martin Odegaard, Norway made a winning start too, beating their Scandinavian rivals Denmark 3-2 in a thrilling opener.
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Norway → spearhead → opener
Frustrated after a string of missed chances in the first game, Portugal’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to rediscover his form as the team embraces a new chapter under coach Jorge Jesus, whose first game in charge was on Thursday against Wales.
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game → miss → Wales
The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against equally ranked teams.
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League → found → teams
In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure that features promotion and relegation.
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that → participate → promotion
When did Norway and Portugal last meet?
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Norway → meet → ?
The teams last met in a 2016 international friendly in Porto when hosts Portugal defeated Norway 3-0.
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Portugal → meet → Norway
Form guide
(Last five games, latest results first)
Norway: W-L-W-W-L
Portugal: W-L-W-D-W
Who are the top players to watch?
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players → watch → ?
A double from Haaland and another goal from Bobb set Norway on course for a winning start, and the attacking pair should be in the limelight in front of their home crowd this weekend.
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pair → set → crowd
Portugal’s striking pair of Ronaldo and Felix ought to be careful in the final third this time out after Felix’s lone strike in the opening win in Lisbon.
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pair → strike → Lisbon
Ronaldo had a goal ruled out and was among the players who missed a flurry of chances as Portugal registered a whopping 23 total shots but with only five on target, of which just one hit the back of the net.
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one → have → net
Will Haaland, Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes play?
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Haaland → play → ?
Both forwards are fit to play, but Portugal will miss the services of their talismanic midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who is injured.
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who → play → midfielder
Fernandes has played in all seven of Manchester United’s matches this season and featured from the start for Portugal against Wales before being withdrawn in the 90th minute.
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Fernandes → play → minute
Jesus said he doesn’t want to “risk” the player against Norway.
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he → say → Norway
“Against Wales, we went in with practically everyone physically available and came out with a complicated problem with Bruno Fernandes,” the coach said.
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coach → go → Fernandes
“He’s coming off an injury at United, and he told me he’s been playing with that pain for the last three games, which is hindering him.
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which → come → him
“It was one of the factors that prevented Bruno from playing at his best against Wales.
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that → prevent → Wales
I’ve already spoken to him, and I prefer not to risk it in this game, so he’s fully fit for the Denmark match.”
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he → speak → match
The King of the North
Haaland’s double against Denmark on Thursday marked another milestone in the 26-year-old striker’s enviable career.
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double → mark → career
He is now the highest-scoring Nordic man in international football history, surpassing Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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He → score → Ibrahimovic
Haaland’s goal tally for Norway stands at 64 goals compared with Ibrahimovic’s 62.
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tally → stand → 62
Incredibly, Haaland has shattered that record in 56 appearances – less than half of the 122 matches Ibrahimovic needed.
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Ibrahimovic → shatter → matches
“It is not possible to explain nor is it possible to learn.
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it → explain → ?
He is born with it.
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He → bear → it
It is instinct,” Norway manager Stale Solbakken said about Haaland.
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Solbakken → say → Haaland
Having made his senior debut in 2019, Haaland boasts a record of scoring more than one goal per game for Norway.
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Haaland → make → Norway
“It’s madness,” midfielder Sander Berge said about Haaland’s talent.
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Berge → ’ → talent
“It’s everyday business that Haaland scores goals, so it’s reasonable that he is up there, but it’s powerful.”
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it → ’ → goals
What have the coaches said?
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coaches → say → What
They have players we know like Haaland and Odegaard who play at a very high level in England.
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who → have → England
They will create more goalscoring opportunities against us than Wales, and I hope we have the defensive capacity.
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we → create → capacity
We’ll evolve the game we’ve already played, but I trust that the team will respond defensively and will be more creative offensively.”
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team → evolve → game
Solbakken: “They changed the coach, and if you look at what he did at his previous clubs and the football they played, the way they played against Wales was a little different to what it was with [Roberto] Martinez.
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it → change → Martinez
There were players in other positions, and we took that into account in our game plan.
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we → be → plan
Obviously, they have good players all over the field.
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they → have → field
We expect a close and balanced game.
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We → expect → game
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
