Andreas Schjelderup Shines at World Cup: Tottenham and Liverpool on Alert
Andreas Schjelderup walked onto the pitch in the bowels of a World Cup last-16 tie and walked off it as one of the most talked-about young attackers in Europe.
At half-time in Norway’s clash with Brazil, Stale Solbakken rolled the dice. Antonio Nusa had shown flashes but no finish. Norway needed incision, someone to actually hurt Brazil rather than just threaten to. On came the 22-year-old from Benfica.
The game flipped.
Schjelderup didn’t just change the tempo, he changed the temperature. He immediately drove at defenders, head up, always searching for Erling Haaland. He finished the night with two assists in a 2-1 win that stunned Brazil and sent a message far beyond this World Cup.
Clubs were already watching. Now they’re circling.
A cameo that echoed across Europe
The numbers from his 45 minutes against Brazil tell part of the story. Two assists. One sharp snapshot beaten away by Alisson. Twenty-five completed passes from 27 attempts. A successful dribble, five ball recoveries, a tackle, an interception.
The rest is in the way he did it.
First, the warning. Picking the ball up on the left, Schjelderup cut inside and snapped a shot at goal, forcing Alisson into a smart save. It was a glimpse of his intent: no safe touches, no sideways security blanket. Direct, aggressive, purposeful.
Then the breakthrough. Given half a yard, he burned past his full-back, looked up and hung a delicious, looping cross into the area. Haaland attacked it, met it, buried it. Norway had their lead, and Schjelderup had his World Cup moment.
The second assist was simpler but just as significant. A neat, uncomplicated pass into Haaland’s path, 23 yards out. One touch, one finish, bottom corner. On the stat sheet it looks routine. On the scouting reports, it reads as something else: composure, vision, the right choice under pressure.
This wasn’t a one-off, either. Schjelderup has started only one game at this tournament, but he still found an assist and stood out as one of Norway’s brighter performers in a 4-1 defeat to France. Every time he has been trusted, he has left a mark.
From Benfica bench to Premier League radar
Tottenham and Liverpool have been tracking that rise for months, long before Brazil felt the full force of it.
Schjelderup’s club season with Benfica started slowly. He spent much of the first half of the campaign on the bench, waiting for an opening. When it came, he didn’t waste it. The left-sided winger forced his way into the XI and finished the Liga Portugal season with six goals and four assists in his final 14 league games.
The turning point arrived in January, when he scored twice against Real Madrid and pushed his name onto the wider European stage. That night, he stopped being a prospect and started being a problem for elite defences.
With two years left on his Benfica contract, the situation has become very real for his club. Schjelderup is understood to be keen on a move to the Premier League this summer, and a fee in the region of £35 million is being discussed. For a 22-year-old with his trajectory, that figure will tempt more than just Tottenham and Liverpool.
Essien’s verdict and a growing reputation
Those who know Schjelderup best have been convinced for a while.
Chelsea legend Michael Essien worked with him at Nordsjaelland, where the winger’s senior career began, and his assessment was emphatic. Essien told VG that “Schjelde has everything to take even bigger steps. The sky's the limit. He can play for the biggest clubs in the world. Personally, I'd like to see him at Real Madrid or another big club.”
One detail in particular stood out. “When Andreas has the ball, he almost seems faster with it than without it. There aren't many players like that. When he accelerates, it's very difficult to stop him.”
That quality was written all over his display against Brazil. Every touch carried threat. Every run asked a question. For recruitment departments, that blend of speed, control and decision-making is gold dust.
Why Tottenham are watching closely
Tottenham need fresh blood in attack. That much is clear. With a demanding schedule and an evolving frontline, Ange Postecoglou requires another wide forward who can both score and create, someone comfortable on the left but intelligent enough to roam.
Schjelderup fits that profile. He presses, he tracks back, he carries the ball under pressure and, crucially, he delivers end product. Six goals and four assists to close out a league season, followed by a World Cup cameo that knocks out Brazil, is not the return of a luxury player. It is the output of a winger who decides games.
At around £35 million, this is not a bargain-bin punt. It is a calculated move on a player whose ceiling, as Essien put it, looks frighteningly high.
Liverpool, too, will see the appeal. Their wide areas are stacked with talent, but they have never shied away from adding another runner, another line-breaker, another weapon for their forwards to feed off and play with.
For now, Schjelderup remains a Benfica player and a World Cup game-changer. The next few weeks will decide whether that thrilling 45 minutes against Brazil becomes the moment he simply announced himself to the world—or the moment that pushed him through the doors of the Premier League.
