Former midfielder Kjetil Rekdal has held the historic mark since 1998, but the record is in Erling Haaland’s sights as the country returns to the World Cup
Find out who Norway’s top scorer in World Cup history is: with two goals scored, the former midfielder Kjetil Rekdal leads the isolated ranking of the Scandinavian country. He hit the net in consecutive editions of the FIFA competition, etching his name as the national team’s main hero on the sport’s biggest stages.
The record holder and the unforgettable penalty against Brazil
Kjetil Rekdal’s brand was built on two fundamental holdings. The first goal came in 1994 World Cupin the United States, when he left the bench to guarantee the 1-0 victory over Mexico in the group stage.
Four years later, in the 1998 edition played in France, the number 10 would experience the peak of his international career. In the final minutes of the decisive match against the Brazilian team, Rekdal perfectly scored the historic penalty that declared the Norwegian victory 2-1. The result took Norway to the round of 16 of the tournament for the first and only time in its history.
Complete ranking of Norwegian goalscorers in the tournament
Although the Scandinavian team participated in only three editions of the men’s World Cup (1938, 1994 and 1998), four other outfield players also left their marks. One of the goals in the 1998 campaign was scored against by Moroccan Youssef Chippo and, therefore, does not count as an individual goal for Norwegian athletes.
Below, the official list of all players who have scored for the country:
1. Kjetil Rekdal (2 goals)
The former midfielder is the only Norwegian to score in multiple editionsadding surgical goals against Mexico (1994) and Brazil (1998).
2. Arne Brustad (1 goal)
The pioneer. Brustad noted the Norway’s first World Cup goalin the 2-1 defeat to the Italian team, during the round of 16 of the 1938 World Cup.
3. Dan Eggen (1 goal)
The defender went on the attack and scored with a header. 2-2 draw against Moroccoin the Norwegian debut in the 1998 competition.
4. Håvard Flo (1 goal)
The center forward scored the goals in the 1-1 draw against Scotlandalso valid for the group stage of the French edition.
5. Tore André Flo (1 goal)
One of the country’s greatest idols, the striker started the comeback against Brazil in 1998scoring the equalizer in the 38th minute of the second half, before the decisive penalty converted by Rekdal.
Erling Haaland’s threat in the current scenario
The top of this list has a great chance of gaining a new owner from the 2026 World Cup. After a 28-year absence from the tournament, the Norwegian team secured its return with an undefeated campaign in the European qualifiers.
The person primarily responsible for this classification goes by the name of Erling Haaland. The Manchester City star is already the Norway’s all-time top scorerwith 55 goals in just 48 official matches. In the 2026 qualifiers alone, the striker scored an impressive 16 goals.
Haaland’s presence in North America puts Rekdal’s former record under imminent threat. The current Norwegian generation, led by midfielder Martin Ødegaard and driven by the lethality of his number 9, arrives at the tournament with the technical potential necessary to rewrite the country’s statistics books once and for all.
