ESPN’s Taylor Twellman on England & Norway’s Impressive ’26 World Cup Debuts

Taylor Twellman still thinks France is the most talented team in the World Cup. But the way England and Norway opened the tournament got his attention.

On England, Twellman has been making the same point for four straight major tournaments: they've never had this much depth. The high end may not be elite, but the talent runs all over the attacking end, so much so that Phil Foden and Cole Palmer didn't even make the squad. England's problem for 60-plus years, Twellman said, has been being too scared to let it loose and win a game 4-2. In their opener, they weren't scared. They were really good. France is still the most talented side, but that version of England earns a second look.

Then there was Erling Haaland, who Twellman admitted he'd never watched start to finish until the other day, when the Norwegian striker proved impossible to miss. He looks like Thor, Rich offered. An Avenger, Twellman agreed, echoing the running comparison to Gronk playing soccer. Haaland scored twice, including one Rich swore he got by scaring the Iraqi goalie.

The tactical wrinkle Twellman loved was Norway's pairing of two center forwards listed at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5. Conventional wisdom says you only play one tall target up front. Norway decided those big bodies are their strength and committed to being direct, fast, and old-fashioned, daring opponents to deal with two horses up front. That alone, Twellman said, scares the living daylights out of teams.

It made for a notable debut. Norway hadn't been in a World Cup since 1998, and Haaland answered the moment with a brace. As for what fuels those Scandinavian giants, Rich wondered what's in the yogurt. Twellman's guess was liver and onions for breakfast and meat off the bone, not yogurt.