Wales beat Norway 2-1 on Thursday at Cardiff City Stadium for their first win in the top tier of the Nations League. Daniel James leveled before halftime, and Neco Williams scored from a free kick after Norway’s Torbjorn Heggem was sent off.
It ended a rough run for Craig Bellamy’s team, which had lost its first two group games and had not won in its first six matches of 2026.
How Wales beat Norway in Cardiff
Norway struck first in the 11th minute. Oscar Bobb finished a move set up by Martin Odegaard.
Wales answered in the 38th minute. Sorba Thomas crossed, and James swept the ball home after the winger helped win it back high up the pitch.
The match turned seconds after the restart. Heggem fouled James as the last defender, and the referee showed him a red card for denying a clear scoring chance. Williams curled the ensuing free kick into the net early in the second half.
Haaland kept quiet
Erling Haaland, Norway’s captain and top scorer, never found a way through. He headed over the bar from close range in the second half and later sent another header straight at goalkeeper Danny Ward, Sky Sports reported.
Norway had the better of the early play, but it could not keep up the pressure with 10 men. For more on the Norway side’s year, see our World Cup 2026 Group I preview, and for more on Haaland at club level, read about Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea.
What the win means for Wales
The result gives Wales their first points in a group that had started badly. Their earlier defeats came against Portugal, a team we covered when Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portugal camp, and Denmark.
James called it “a massive win” that “gets us off the mark in this group.” Williams, who was named player of the match by Sofascore, said the team knew its first two games were not up to standard and felt it deserved the result.
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