Martin Odegaard steers the ship nobody saw coming

While Erling Haaland has rightfully dominated the headlines with seven goals, the man pulling the strings in Norway’s fairytale World Cup run has operated largely in his teammate’s shadow.

Captain Martin Odegaard has been just as instrumental to Norway’s first-ever quarterfinal qualification. The midfielder provided an assist in each of his first three WC appearances — against Iraq, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. He became only the third player — after Igor Belanov (1986) and Michael Ballack (2002) — to have an assist under his name in his opening three matches.

The 27-year-old marshalled his troops in the last-16 clash, dictating terms against Brazil as his side dominated possession (66%). Against the Selecao, he completed 101 passes with an accuracy of 93%, created a chance, registered two shots, won two ground duels and had the joint-most touches in the opposition box as Norway produced one of the great World Cup upsets.

Operating as the playmaker in Stale Solbakken’s 4-3-3 set-up, the Arsenal man has become the hub through which most of Norway’s attacking play flows. He drops deep to collect the ball, drives the team forward, and consistently finds Haaland and Antonio Nusa in dangerous pockets.

It’s a role that rarely produces the eye-catching numbers which strikers get credit for. Still, the underlying data tells its own story: only a few midfielders at this World Cup have combined creative output with defensive work rate as consistently as Norway’s ‘leader’. As Norway prepares to face England, Odegaard’s ability to dictate the flow may decide how far Norway’s ‘golden generation’ can go.