Ståle Solbakken

Ståle Solbakken is the head coach of Norway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the country's first appearance at the tournament since 1998, when he himself was in the squad as a player. Born in Kongsvinger on 27 February 1968, he played as an attacking midfielder for Lillestrøm, Wimbledon, Aalborg and FC Copenhagen, winning Danish league titles with the latter two and earning 58 caps for Norway.

As a manager his name is inseparable from FC Copenhagen: across two spells he won eight Superliga titles and led the club into the Champions League knockout stage in 2010 — a Danish first. Short, less happy stints followed at 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga and at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, before he returned to Copenhagen and rebuilt his reputation.

On 3 December 2020 he succeeded Lars Lagerbäck as Norway head coach. After two near-misses in the qualifying cycles for the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, he finally got his generation — Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa — to a major tournament with qualification for Euro 2024 and then the 2026 World Cup. Norway are in Group I with France, Senegal and Iraq. Solbakken's task: convert Norway's individual star power into a deep summer in North America.