Norway vs England: a Quarterfinal for History
Whatever happens on Saturday, this match is already historic. Norway are at their first World Cup since 1998 — a 28-year wait — and by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup they have already recorded the best result in the country's football history. Standing between them and an unthinkable semifinal: England, world champions of 1966 and permanent residents of the tournament's business end. One nation dreaming its wildest dream, one nation expecting — and between Oslo, Bergen, London and Liverpool, a whole lot of phone calls when it's over.
Norway: 28 years of waiting, one golden generation
Norway's World Cup résumé is short: appearances in 1938, 1994 and 1998, and never past the round of 16. But it contains one of the tournament's immortal upsets — Norway 2, Brazil 1 in Marseille in 1998, a late comeback against the reigning champions that still gets replayed on Norwegian television every summer. Then came the long silence, and then the generation Norway had been promised finally arrived: the Haaland–Ødegaard era has carried the country not just back to the finals, but further than any Norwegian side has ever been.
England fans of a certain age know Norway's dark side too. When Norway beat England 2–1 in a 1981 qualifier, commentator Bjørge Lillelien delivered the most famous rant in football broadcasting: "Maggie Thatcher — your boys took a hell of a beating!" Norwegians have been waiting 45 years for a chance to say it again.
England: the weight of 1966
England's one World Cup triumph is the stuff of national mythology: Wembley, 1966, a 4–2 extra-time final against West Germany and Geoff Hurst's hat-trick — still the only one ever scored in a World Cup final. Since then: semifinals in 1990 and 2018 (fourth place both times), two European Championship finals in the 2020s, and six decades of "football's coming home". England reach this stage of tournaments almost by default; the hard part, as every England fan will tell you through gritted teeth, is the next step.
How to call Norway: +47
Norway's country code is +47, and Norwegian numbers are pleasantly minimal: eight digits, no leading zero, no area codes — you dial the same eight digits whether you're in Trondheim or Thailand. Mobiles start with 4 or 9 (+47 40 61 23 45); landlines start with 2, 3, 5, 6 or 7 — an Oslo fixed line looks like +47 22 23 45 67. Per-minute prices for Norwegian mobiles and landlines are on the Norway rates page.
How to call England: +44
England shares the +44 code with the whole United Kingdom. Domestic numbers start with 0, dropped internationally. A London landline is +44 20 1234 5678 (area code 20; Birmingham is 121, Liverpool 151, Sheffield 114), and mobiles start with 7: +44 7400 123456. All the current rates are on the United Kingdom rates page.
Late kickoff, light Nordic nights
The match is played in the United States, so it lands late in the European evening — around pub closing time in England and deep into the pale Nordic summer night in Norway, where it barely gets dark in July anyway (Oslo is one hour ahead of London). The post-match calls — jubilant, devastated, or both at once — are where eFon earns its keep: calls from the app to any Norwegian or British number cost a clear per-minute rate, up to 90% less than dialling directly on a mobile-operator plan, and the person you're calling just answers a normal call. Fans who made the trip to America can pair it with the eFon travel eSIM for data in the USA. Supporters watching from Dublin have skin in this game too — the Ireland rates page has the neighbours covered.
The other quarterfinals
- France vs Morocco: the World Cup rematch
- Spain vs Belgium: a 40-year World Cup rematch
- Argentina vs Switzerland: holders vs history
History says England. Momentum says Norway. The phone bill, either way, says eFon. ⚽