The optimism surrounding Norway’s World Cup campaign has reached new heights ahead of tonight’s quarter-final against England, with Norwegian bettors backing their national team in overwhelming numbers.
Exclusive betting data from Coolbet shows that 70% of all money wagered by Norwegian customers on the match has been placed on Norway to qualify for the semi-finals, despite bookmakers continuing to make England favourites to progress.
With turnover already exceeding €250,000 as of 18:06 UK time, tonight’s showdown in Miami has become comfortably the biggest betting event involving Norway so far during the tournament.
Brazil victory transformed market sentiment
The numbers represent a dramatic shift in confidence compared to Norway’s previous knockout match against Brazil. Ahead of the round-of-16 meeting with the five-time world champions, Brazilian victory remained the most popular outcome among Norwegian customers, attracting 49% of all turnover compared to Norway’s 41%.
A famous 2-1 victory over Brazil has clearly changed perceptions. Norway now attracts almost three times as much money as England despite facing a side that arrived in the United States as one of the pre-tournament favourites and currently sits significantly higher in the FIFA rankings.
The quarter-final against England has also generated more than double the turnover of the Brazil game, underlining the growing excitement surrounding what is already Norway’s best World Cup performance for almost three decades.
England attracting surprisingly limited support
Despite reaching the last eight and being priced at 2.03 to win the match, England have struggled to win over Norwegian customers. Only €61,490.82 of turnover, representing 24% of all stakes, has been placed on the Three Lions progressing to the semi-finals.
By comparison, Norwegian customers have wagered €174,845.02 on their own side reaching the final four. The draw after 90 minutes has attracted the smallest share of support, accounting for just 6% of turnover despite knockout football often producing tense and cautious contests.
Betting slips heavily favour Norway
The number of betting slips paints an equally revealing picture. A total of 17,568 betting slips have backed Norway compared to 7,835 supporting England, while 4,832 customers expect the tie to remain level after normal time.
The figures suggest this is not merely a handful of large patriotic wagers skewing the market, but widespread belief among Norwegian bettors that Ståle Solbakken’s side can continue their remarkable run.
Whether Norwegian customers are being driven by patriotism or genuine belief will become clear later tonight, but one thing is certain: confidence in this Norway side has never been higher during the 2026 World Cup.