Martin Ødegaard

Martin Ødegaard is Norway's captain and creative fulcrum, a left-footed attacking midfielder who operates behind the strikers in Ståle Solbakken's side at Norway's first World Cup since 1998. A child prodigy who became Norway's youngest-ever international at 15 and earned a move to Real Madrid in 2015, he rebuilt his career on loan before joining Arsenal in 2021, where he captained the club and led their charge back to the top of English football. His big concern heading into the tournament was fitness after an injury-plagued spring, and teammate Sander Berge has cheerfully ribbed him over it, joking to NRK, "Jeg vet ikke hva Martin driver med, jeg. Den 77. skaden i år" ("I don't know what Martin is up to. The 77th injury this year").