The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just a few weeks away now, and many countries are starting to put their final team rosters in place. It’s not unusual for federations to tap celebrities for special roster announcements ahead of the World Cup or Olympics, but having a sitting monarch announce the team is extra special.
Norway’s King Harald announced the country’s 26-player World Cup squad on Thursday. This summer will be the nation’s first World Cup appearance since 1998. Norway, sitting at No. 31 in the global FIFA rankings, will open its group stage campaign against Iraq on June 16 in Boston, followed by a match against Senegal on June 22 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, before closing the group stage against France on June 26 in Boston.
The squad’s undeniable marquee name is Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. The 25-year-old has won the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, England’s FA Cup, and the FIFA Best Men’s Player award, and has broken multiple scoring records at club level, making him one of the most recognizable players in international soccer.
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Haaland during a Norway v. Israel friendly in October.
While King Harald wished the team luck with his announcement, it is not known whether any members of the Norwegian royal family plan to attend matches in the United States. The question of royal attendance at the tournament has drawn attention this week after King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands confirmed that they will travel to the United States to attend the Oranje’s opening match against Sweden in Houston on June 20, as well as Curaçao’s opener against Ecuador in Kansas City that same day. Prince William, who serves as Patron of the England Football Association, has not confirmed his attendance but is widely expected to travel to the U.S. to watch England compete.
Several nations are still finalizing their rosters. The United States Men’s National Team is scheduled to announce its squad on May 26 at a media event in New York.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
