Haaland and Norway play World Cup warm-up matches against the Netherlands and Switzerland

Erling Haaland and Norway face the Netherlands and Switzerland in March to prepare for a tough World Cup group led by France, while European teams line up their opponents in warm-ups on Monday.

Norway has come through World Cup qualifying with eight wins and 37 European goals (16 from Haaland) and will play away to the Netherlands on March 27 before hosting the Swiss in Oslo four days later, the Norwegian Football Federation said.

The Netherlands and Switzerland also impressed by finishing at the top of their qualifying groups, Norwegian coach Ståle Solbakken noted.

The World Cup draw on Friday placed Norway in a group with France, Senegal and the winner of a play-off round with Iraq, Bolivia and Suriname. The play-offs will be decided on March 31.

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Switzerland will host Germany in Basel on March 27. Last year at the European Championship they drew 1-1 in the group stage before both were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

“Switzerland are a great opponent, just three months before our tournament starts, and they will push us hard,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Germany are looking for a new opponent in March after plans against Ivory Coast ended when they were drawn into the same World Cup group. It also includes Curacao and Ecuador.

World Cup teams are likely to play two more warm-up matches as part of training camps starting in late May ahead of the June 11 to July 19 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Published on December 8, 2025