Overview
Norway will return to play in Oslo with the goal of winning, thereby closing the friendly matches in March in the context of the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
They won a convincing ticket to the finals, marking their first return to the World Cup arena since 1998 - a tournament where they once reached the round of 16.
Notably, Norway is one of the only two teams to win all matches in the qualifiers, defeating Italy, Israel, Estonia and Moldova in all 8 matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding only 5 times. Erling Haaland alone contributed 16 goals, leading the scoring list in the European regional qualifiers.
After closing 2025 with two impressive 4-1 victories, coach Stale Solbakken's team started 2026 with a friendly match away from home against the Netherlands. Despite taking an early lead thanks to Andreas Schjelderup's goal, they still lost 1-2 after Virgil van Dijk equalized and Tijjani Reijnders scored the decisive goal.
Now, with only one more friendly match before facing Sweden in June, Norway aims to quickly regain the winning momentum at home.
On the opposite side, Switzerland also traveled to Oslo with the determination to recover after the defeat in the most recent friendly match.
Switzerland will participate in the 2026 World Cup - the sixth consecutive time they have participated in the biggest football festival on the planet, after passing the group stage and stopping in the round of 16 in the last three tournaments.
Coach Murat Yakin's team won a ticket with the top spot in the qualifying group, undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws. Including an important draw against Kosovo in the final match.
In the first friendly match of 2026, Switzerland lost 3-4 to Germany in an exciting score chase. They twice took the lead thanks to goals from Dan Ndoye and Breel Embolo, before being reversed. Joel Monteiro scored the equalizer, but Florian Wirtz sealed the victory for the away team in the final minutes.
With less preparation time before the World Cup kicks off, Switzerland aims to end their March training camp with a victory to strengthen their confidence.
Personnel situation
Norway is likely to welcome the return of key striker Haaland, who was given a break in the match against the Netherlands last week but is now ready to reappear. This striker is currently possessing an impressive record of 55 goals in 48 appearances for the national team.
In attack, competition is quite fierce. Andreas Schjelderup, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Jens Petter Hauge are all options ready to compete for a starting spot.
In midfield, Patrick Berg is likely to continue to be side by side with Oscar Bobb and Sander Berge to create a familiar framework. Meanwhile, in defense, Leo Ostigard is expected to pair center-backs with Kristoffer Ajer.
On the other side, coach Murat Yakin made many adjustments in the match against Germany last week. He is likely to continue to take advantage of this match to assess the force before the World Cup, although the starting lineup may not change too much.
In attack, Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye are likely to still be given opportunities after scoring together in the previous match.
In midfield, Granit Xhaka continues to be an important support with 144 appearances for the national team.
Expected lineup:
Nyland, Ryerson, Ajer, Ostigard, Wolfe, Bobb, Berge, Berg, Sorloth, Haaland, Schjelderup.
Kobel, Widmer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Freuler, Xhaka, Rieder, Okafor, Embolo, Ndoye.
The match between Norway and Switzerland takes place at 11:00 PM on March 31st (Vietnam time).
