Torbjørn Heggem

Torbjørn Lysaker Heggem is a towering 1.92m centre-back (who can also fill in at left-back) and one of the late-blooming surprises of Ståle Solbakken's Norway squad at the country's first World Cup since 1998. His career reads like a slow-burn fairytale: after journeyman spells at Ranheim, Sandnes Ulf and Swedish second-tier Brommapojkarna, he only broke through abroad at West Bromwich Albion, where he was voted 2024-25 Player of the Season, before a roughly £10m move to Serie A side Bologna in August 2025. Remarkably, he didn't earn his first Norway cap until October 2024 at age 25, yet against Iraq in the 4-1 opening win he played the full 90 minutes, starting as centre-back and shifting to left-back for the closing 20 minutes.