Saka Ready for Norway Challenge in World Cup Quarter-Final
By the time England walk out to face Norway in their World Cup quarter-final, Bukayo Saka expects to feel something close to himself again. Not the patched‑up version who arrived at the tournament, carefully handled and rationed. The real one.
“I think across the tournament my minutes have been building and building,” the England winger said. “Of course I would have loved to have come to the tournament at 100% but that wasn't the case and everyone has realised that and has managed me in the best way possible, but right now I'm feeling great and ready to go.”
That last line will be the one that matters inside the England camp. Ready to go. Because this tie in Kansas City is not just about tactics, shapes or match‑ups with Erling Haaland. It is about how a group that has been stretched physically and emotionally responds three days after dragging itself through a storm against Mexico.
Saka cuts the figure of a player who has already made that mental shift.
“There’s been a nice balance between a real focus and intensity in training and when it's our downtime having that relaxed mindset and enjoying with the boys and our families in Kansas City,” he said. “Each game has been unique for me but my mindset doesn't really change much – I come on, whether I start or not, and I try and do what the game needs. It's about winning and that's my mindset.”
Belief tested, belief hardened
Mexico pushed England to the edge. Extra time, tension, the kind of night that frays nerves back home and drains legs on the pitch. Inside the squad, though, Saka insists the faith never cracked.
“For us, we believed and we believed from the start,” he said. “The belief was more for the people back home and them seeing us go through that adversity and see us come out on top was important for all of us.
“How players that haven't been playing came on and the players that have been produced some big moments again. Everyone had their contribution and it was just an amazing night for us as a camp.
“Our spirits are high and we need to take it into the next game.”
That is the tightrope now: keep the high, lose the hangover. The drama against Mexico made memories; it cannot be allowed to shape habits.
“We discussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of the Mexico game behind us now,” Saka said. “We soaked in all of the praise and everything that came with it but now we need to focus on Norway which is going to be a tough challenge.
“We're fully focused and buzzing that we're winning. Norway are a very good team – they play with confidence and a directness and that's been working for them so far.”
Haaland’s stage, England’s burden
On the other side of this quarter-final stands Haaland, the tournament’s looming figure and Norway’s force of nature, happy to embrace the underdog script and hand the weight of expectation straight back to England.
“Yes, definitely,” the Manchester City striker said when asked if all the pressure is on Thomas Tuchel’s side. “I think there's some clear favourites out there, England's one of them.
“I think all of you should put every single [bit of] pressure on the English lads.
“Yeah, they [England fans] should be confident of progressing, definitely. It's England.”
He knows what this means for his country. Norway had not even been at a World Cup since 1998. Now they stand in the last eight, after finishing second in Group I and then knocking out Ivory Coast and Brazil.
“I didn't expect it. To be honest, to be in the quarter-finals with Norway in the World Cup is quite surprising even for me,” he admitted. “Playing against Brazil was kind of crazy for us Norwegians and to win against Brazil and then go and play England in the quarter-finals in the World Cup in the USA is quite special.
“It's difficult to take everything in because you need to kind of just play the game like it's a training session.
“I think if you watch the scenes back in Norway, this is not normal for Norway to be, so it's super special.”
Norway are treating this as a once‑in‑a‑generation ride. Haaland is leaning into that freedom. England, as ever, travel with history and expectation strapped to their backs: three straight men’s World Cups reaching at least the quarter-finals, but no final since 1966.
‘Erling is Erling’ – England’s inside track
If anyone in the England squad understands the scale of the Haaland problem, it is Nico O'Reilly. He sees the Norwegian up close at Manchester City. He also knows the danger of obsessing over him.
“Yeah, a lot of confidence,” O’Reilly said of the mood after the Mexico win. “We had confidence going into that game and we have got confidence going into this game. We believe in ourselves, trust our abilities and we go from there.”
On Haaland, he barely needed to elaborate.
“Erling is Erling. We all know what he is like. He can score goals, he is dangerous in the box and he is a real threat.”
So how do you live with that threat?
“I guess it takes a toll in it but I think keeping Erling quiet gives us a real chance to win the game,” O’Reilly said. “Given all the threat he can cause, unbelievable striker, world-class. He showed that throughout the tournament, scoring in every game he has played in. We are mainly focusing on ourselves and focusing on our game rather than his.”
That last line echoes Saka. The message from England is consistent: respect the superstar, but don’t orbit around him.
A nation split between certainty and nerves
Back home, the phone‑in lines tell their own story. Confidence, caution, and a flicker of dread all swirling together.
“I don’t see England losing tomorrow,” said Freddy from South London. “I think in terms of a team that we could have played, a quarter-final against Norway is a team that we will know a lot about. We know a lot about their players. This will be our best opportunity to get through to a semi-final. It will be like playing a really high-quality Premier League game. England players will be comfortable playing this game. There will be a predictability about Norway that England will be ready for. England could not have been paired with a better team at this stage.”
From Leeds, Monica, a Norway fan, pinned her hopes on the obvious man.
“I think Haaland is an incredible striker,” she said. “In some of the goals he has scored in the tournament, he’s almost at walking pace, doesn’t look like he’s interested in the game, then takes one or two big strides and big jump and brings it into the back of the net in a big way. If Norway is going to have a chance, we of course rely on Haaland being on really good form.”
Bradley, an England supporter living in Oslo, sits somewhere in between.
“A few days ago, I felt very confident but some little nerves are kicking in now with all the injuries and illnesses.”
That tension feels about right. England know this terrain, quarter-finals are no longer new ground. Norway are walking into a dream.
The question now is simple: does the weight of expectation crush England, or does a fit-again Saka, a hardened mindset and a squad used to suffering turn that pressure into something ruthless?
