David Moller Wolfe believes his entire footballing career has led to this very moment – the opportunity to represent Norway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Wolves left-back was a constant presence throughout Norway’s 100 per cent record in qualification, which included home and away wins over Italy, and as he heads out to North America for his first experience of a World Cup, he could not be prouder.
Despite their impressive record in reaching the competition, a group made up of Iraq, Senegal and France poses a difficult challenge for a nation who are still ranked outside the top 30 countries by FIFA.
Norway’s World Cup 2026 fixtures:
- Iraq vs Norway | 16th June 2026 | Boston
- Norway vs Senegal | 23rd June 2026 | New York/New Jersey
- Norway vs France | 26th June 2026 | Boston
Although Norway are being tipped as a dark horse and outside bet to lift the trophy in New Jersey in a month’s time, Wolfe insists that he and none of his teammates are thinking that far ahead, and are just looking to go one game at a time.
On preparing for his World Cup debut
“It feels big. It’s probably one of the proudest moments in my career because for everyone who plays football, the biggest thing they can do is to represent their country in a World Cup.
“It’s so, so special. Norway hasn’t been there for 28 years, so that makes a bit even more special and I feel very proud and honoured.”
On playing for Norway in a World Cup
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, 100 per cent. But I was growing up, I didn’t really dream of such big things. Playing in a World Cup with Norway, that was a bit out of this world, so to actually have the opportunity to do that is incredible and makes me so proud.
“It’s such an amazing feeling to represent my country. Singing the national anthem before every game gives me goosebumps every time. To be able to do that now in America is going to be huge, and something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
On the hard work paying off
“This moment is what my whole career has been building towards. I’m not someone to whine about everything you have to do [to become a footballer], because being a football player, you’re so privileged.
“But all the sacrifices you’ve made when you were young, all the hard work, it’s all worth it. I’m really happy because I can already say that I played in the Premier League this year, and one day soon I can say that I’ve played in a World Cup, so it’s such a big moment for me.”
On making his family proud
“But it’s not just sacrifices I made, my parents did so much to help me get to this moment. They drove me to training every day when I was living in Spain, they drove me to all my games, and they did everything for me.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t really understand how much that meant, but growing up and getting older, you look back at how much they’ve helped me. I’m so thankful to them because I know I would never have been able to do it without them.
“They are going to be very proud. That’s one of the things I like most about being a football player, to be able to make family and friends proud, so I'm very glad for that.”
On taking qualifying form into the group stages
“We hope we can carry that into the finals. We are obviously very happy to be there, but we also want to make a mark on the tournament. For ourselves, we have expectations to go there and do the best we can, and then we’ll see how far that will be.
“It’s not going to be easy. Not at all. We’re probably going to be favourites against Iraq in the first game, and then it’s very 50/50 against Senegal for the second game, so that’s going to be a huge game if we can get three points from those first two games.
“Then the France game we see a bit as a bonus because they are probably the biggest favourite to win the entire thing. We’re in a very tough group, but we have a lot of confidence built up now after the qualification, and we think we have a good opportunity to get to the knockout stages.”
On Norway’s chances this summer
“Winning a World Cup is something that you can’t dream of. There are things that you’re a bit too scared to dream about and are so far away, that you cannot think like that. As players, we’re going to take it game by game, and then see what happens.
“Personally, I feel we can create a lot of trouble for every nation in a single game, but to do it over seven games is a bit more unrealistic, so we can’t go there thinking that we’re going to win. We’re not thinking that.
“But I think every one of us in the squad wants to go further than any Norway team has gone before. We’d like to do that, but then again, the level of the national teams now are so high and every team is so good. So, we will take it one game at a time and see how far we can get.”
