Norway are preparing for one of the biggest matches in their history, but their Golden Generation is anything but a flash in the pan.Landslaget have lived up to their early-World Cup billing as tournament dark horses by reaching the quarter-finals.Haaland has stolen the spotlight at his first-ever World Cup as Norway punch above their weightGettyStåle Solbakken’s side will now battle England in Miami following a stunning 2-1 win over five-time winners Brazil last Sunday.For a country of 5.6 million people, Norway are proving more than a match for Europe’s elite, but perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise.The team are of course, spearheaded by Golden Boot-chasing Erling Haaland, with Premier League title-winning captain Martin Odegaard.Several other stars were also part of Bodo/Glimt’s dream run in last season’s Champions League, along with Odin Bjortuft, who missed out on Norway’s final 26-man squad due to the depth of talent.Asked about his disappointment not to be included, the defender exclusively told talkSPORT.com: “It stung a little bit. “But at the same time, there are so many good players in Norway now, which is a good thing. “They are performing well in Norwegian football for the last six, seven years. It’s just gone up and up and up and improved. “It was disappointing, but now it’s fun to watch and to be a supporter again. I can’t remember the last time I was a football supporter, not having the analyst’s eye for the games I’m watching. “Now it’s just pure feelings, which is good to experience. For the last few years, Norwegian football is getting really possession-wise. “We have players who can really control the game and use the ball.”Norway have hugely impressed on their way to the World Cup quarter-finalsGetty“I think we saw it against Brazil also,” Bjortuft continued. “I think we had 60 per cent possession or something against a really strong ball-playing team. It shows how we play. “At the same time, I think if England give Norway room and space, there’s no doubt we have a counter-attacking team as well, with, of course, Haaland at the front, but also really good wingers who can challenge players one-on-one.“I think football is more possession-based, but I think if we can attack sharp and smooth, we’ll do it.”Showcasing the best of NorwayBjortuft’s Bodo side had already put Norwegian football on the map prior to the World Cup after becoming Europe’s recent success story.Kjetil Knutsen’s men, who hail from a tiny town north of the Arctic Circle, were only promoted to the Eliteserien in 2017.Since then, Bodo reached the Europa League‘s semi-finals two seasons ago, while in the Champions League last year they beat Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan.Bjortuft and Bodo/Glimt have helped put Norwegian football on the mapGettyBjortuft added: “It has been an amazing few years. We’ve conquered our own limits, to say the least, time after time. “I think the way we see it is just take one game after another. It doesn’t matter the opponent.“We have done it for many, many years. It has really shown results. We only think about performance to get better every day. “In that way, you can manage to beat teams like Inter and Atletico. “I think football is a really mental game as well. If you go into a game against Atletico and think, this is going to be tough, we’re going to get smashed, then I think you loosen before you start. “Our mindset has always been to perform the best we can. We’ll see what the result will be.”Scouts are eyeing Norwegian and other Scandinavian stars who are showing potentialGettyNorway’s rising talentNorway’s Golden Generation is also here to stay, with scouts in Brazil also taking a look at the talent emerging in Scandinavia.Flamengo Sporting Director José Boto told talkSPORT.com: “I think that Portugal, France and perhaps Spain are the three countries that produce the most players.“Portugal should be proud because it is a country of 10 million people, compared with France and Spain. Brazil always produces good players.“But at the moment, those three countries – France, Spain and Portugal – are perhaps the ones producing the best players. “We should also pay close attention to the Nordic countries, which are beginning to produce a different type of player – more technically gifted – whilst retaining the physicality they’ve always had, but with greater technical ability. “I know this because I’ve studied it myself. It must be the result of some very good work by most of the football associations in the Nordic countries. “When I talk about Norway, and indeed Denmark and Sweden, they’ve been producing very, very, very good players.”