Rangers: Thelo Aasgaard faces fight to achieve 'massive goal' after Norway scenes at World Cup

Rangers star Thelo Aasgaard was not involved in Norway's 4-1 World Cup win over Iraq on Tuesday.

The Liverpool-born ace would have been hoping to see some minutes from the bench, but that was not the case in the Group I match.

Aasgaard was forced to settle with watching his nations victory from the sidelines, rather than making any kind of impact on proceedings.

Erling Haaland scoring twice, Leo Ostigard and an Aymen Hussein own goal secured all three points for Stale Solbakken's side.

The Norweigians used all five substitutes that they were allowed but the Ibrox star was not one of them.

He will be dissapointed by the scenes away from Govan, as he has previously spoken about how he wants to play at the tournament.

What did Thelo Aasgaard say about World Cup dream?

Aasgaard has dreamed of playing in the World Cup since he was a child, as many players do.

Speaking in August 2025, in quotes reported by STV, he admitted that he wanted to use his move to the Gers to try and feature for Solbakken's team.

He said: “A big goal of mine is to play in the World Cup next year.

“So I want to show the manager that I want to fight for my place.

“I think playing European football helps. Playing in the top division in the country helps. Hopefully, I can get a few caps.

“The World Cup’s a massive goal and always has been since I was a kid.”

Why Rangers ace Aasgaard may not feature at all

It appears that he will face a huge fight to be a part of the competition, as he was not even an option from the bench for the manager.

The quality of the opposition suggests that it is a big hill for the Light Blues ace to climb, as they play Senegal and France in their next two matches.

Iraq are comfortably the worst of their opposition, so Aasgaard not being picked at all against them, suggests he will not get a chance to feature.

Of course, that could change, the manager could suddenly turn to him or an injury could provide an opportunity.

However, it appears that his dream of playing at the tournament will have to be parked up for the immediate future.

There may be one positive for incoming Gers manager Derek McInnes, the snub and any further ones will make the player more determined to thrive at club level, so his international manager has no choice but to select him in future.

Whether he can do that, though, remains to be seen.