Julian Ryerson #26

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Ryerson is the closest thing to a loose cannon in the Norway squad. “I would rather not comment on his brain ... the things that go on in there are not normal,” the Norway coach, Ståle Solbakken, once said with a smile, before adding: “but that is good.” He was referring to the special qualities that have taken Ryerson to the very top: fearlessness, focus and the love for an old-fashioned tackle. Having left Viking for Union Berlin in 2018 he stayed in Germany’s capital for five years before joining Borussia Dortmund, where one of his finest performances came against PSG in the 2023-24 Champions League semi-finals. Dortmund’s defence kept Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé quiet, not conceding in either leg. “We had no special plan to stop Mbappé,” Ryerson said afterwards. “They also had Dembélé and the other guy, I don’t know his name [Barcola]. We had to be best one v one, and we were.” That mindset will come in handy when Ryerson once again faces the French superstars at the World Cup.

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