Norway rests Haaland and nine others, loses 4-1 to France at World Cup

PlaqueBoyMax attended Norway's World Cup match against France accompanied by multiple Erling Haaland lookalikes. The group reacted after learning Haaland would not play. Norway rested 10 first-team players, including Haaland, for the final Group I match and lost 4-1 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The result left Norway as runners-up in the group and set up a round-of-32 match against Ivory Coast on Tuesday. Coach Stale Solbakken said medical tests after Monday's match against Senegal showed five or six players were heavily affected after 80 minutes. He noted Norway had the shortest recovery window of any team and that the entire defense plus several midfielders were impacted.

Fans inside the stadium chanted "We want Haaland" during the match. Solbakken said he weighed fan expectations but prioritized the team's longer-term prospects after consulting physios, medical staff and some players. "We are not a naïve country here just for fun," Solbakken said.

He added that Haaland and Martin Ødegaard understood the choice and that Norway had already secured victories plus the chance to play more games at the tournament.