This moment has been a lifetime in the making for Norway’s captain Martin Odegaard.The orchestrator behind the country’s now famous Viking Row celebrations was born six months after their last World Cup appearance in 1998, and has carried his nation’s hopes of a return since his teens. He made his senior international debut at 15 in 2014, a year before his name first echoed across the globe following his transfer from boyhood club Stromsgodset to Real Madrid.Norway were 53rd in the FIFA World Rankings when the midfielder was first called up. They now rank 19th, with Odegaard leading their charge. They have not just made up the numbers at their first World Cup for 28 years, either. Instead, they have knocked out Senegal, Ivory Coast and Brazil, African and South American heavyweights boasting swathes of international tournament experience.The focus has mainly fixed on Norway’s superstar striker Erling Haaland, who has seven goals at this summer’s tournament, but influence goes beyond goals.The 27-year-old captains Arsenal and Norway, but there is a sense that the character he has displayed at the World Cup is closer to the ‘real’ Odegaard.As Norway’s clear skipper, rather than being part of a wider leadership group, there is naturally more room for the midfielder to express himself. His personality has duly shone through to the point where it can seem like the Odegaard who plays for Arsenal and the one in Norwegian colours are different people.There is his passion when berating officials over decisions he feels are wrong, and the showboating around an annoyed Neymar that exuded a confidence not always on show in the Premier League — even if he and Neymar made up once the full-time whistle blew.Martin Odegaard darts away from Neymar as Norway jettison Brazil from the tournament (Elsa/Getty Images)All this requires some context. Handed the Arsenal captaincy just one year after joining Arsenal, a young Odegaard was viewed as someone who led by example and only spoke when he felt it was necessary. That allowed his messages to carry more weight when he did speak up.A club the size of Arsenal also do not need their captain to drive change on and off the pitch in the way a national team like Norway did. Odegaard has amassed experience across top European leagues that has had an impact on the national team behind the scenes. That includes expectations around the quality of backroom staff within the setup, which has particularly improved in the past five years.By the time he was promoted to captain by his country at the age of 22 in March 2021, Odegaard had already been around the team for seven years. His promotion came just before current manager Stale Solbakken’s first-ever international camp, and coincided with the midfielder’s initial loan move to Arsenal from Real Madrid. This was a time when Odegaard was rediscovering his own identity outside the shadow cast by Real Madrid.