Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard’s leaked WhatsApp chat shows how much things have changed

Premier League rivals and international team-mates Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard have come a long way since their private WhatsApp messages to one another were exposed

Much has changed for Premier League stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard since their texts were leaked as part of a national controversy. And largely for the better as the pair now find themselves on the brink of clinching a place at the 2026 World Cup.

Norway’s talismanic duo were each part of a group that had its communications exposed in a book that was released last year. As well as airing private discussions that took place within the Norway camp, the memoir also details the contents of conversations between Haaland and Odegaard directly.

Texts between the Premier League pair were published by NRK and showed Haaland, then playing for Borussia Dortmund, sharing a screenshot of the Dagbladet homepage. The content in question was discussing Norway’s travel situation during the pandemic, and Odegaard, who was still at Real Madrid at the time, replied with seven Santa Claus emojis.

‘The Battle of the National Team’ became a major source of controversy following its 2024 release due to the information divulged within. Among those topics was Norway’s circumventing of coronavirus protocols in order to maximise the amount of players available to feature in the UEFA Nations League.

It was back in November 2020 that defender Omar Elabdellaoui tested positive for Covid-19. However, it was purported that team doctor Asle B. Kjellsen exploited an “ethically questionable loophole” so that 19 Norwegian players, including Haaland, could feature for their country.

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Around the time of the book’s release, Norway suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Austria and had to watch Euro 2024 from the sidelines after failing to qualify. But the fortunes of Haaland and Odegaard have been transformed over the past 12 months.

As well as recovering to earn promotion in the Nations League, Norway are also on the verge of bagging a spot at the 2026 World Cup. The country hasn’t qualified for a major international tournament since competing at Euro 2000 but can end that quarter-of-a-century-long wait next month.

Norway sit three points clear of Italy in UEFA qualifying Group I with two games left to play, the last of which will be against one another. However, Stale Solbakken’s side can effectively wrap up their berth in North America next year provided they beat Estonia on November 13.

Manchester City marvel Haaland has been particularly prolific during this qualifying campaign after netting 12 goals thus far. To put that strike rate into context, the Netherlands’ Memphis Depay is his nearest UEFA rival on seven goals.

Norway are assured of at least a play-off place as they look to lock down a place at next year’s World Cup. However, they can go one better than that by beating Italy to first place in their pool.

The turnaround is a credit to Solbakken’s work and underlines just how quickly things can change. In a way, some could interpret how things have taken a turn for the better since the book’s publication.

“It’s clear that we don’t want things like this to leak out,” said Genoa and Norway midfielder Morten Thorsby at the time of its release. “I understand very well that people outside are interested in this, but it is something we should keep private, it is important that private messages between us remain in the group.”

Haaland was once again in heroic form during this international break and scored a hat-trick as Norway downed Israel 5-0. He returned to England early and will now go head-to-head against Odegaard’s Arsenal in the hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title.

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