Norway’s remarkable comeback to the World Cup after a 28-year hiatus has been overshadowed by a surge of online misinformation, falsely alleging that the team transported its own food to the United States due to a lack of trust in American cooking.

The rumours, which spread widely across social media, claimed that the Norwegian men’s national football team, currently based in Greensboro, North Carolina, shipped large amounts of food from Norway to avoid consuming locally sourced ingredients. However, these claims have been firmly debunked.

While it is accurate that the team imported certain food items from Norway, the motive behind this was entirely unrelated to concerns over quality or safety.

Team head chef Aron Espeland explained that the practice is a standard one among elite sporting teams, designed to maintain consistency in the players’ diets and to provide them with a comforting sense of familiarity during the demanding tournament schedule.

Espeland elaborated: “When athletes are competing at the highest level, consistency is important. The players are accustomed to specific products and flavours, and familiar foods contribute not only to nutrition but also to their overall mental and physical well-being during a challenging competition.”

Norway have already advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup, a testament to their strong performance on the field.

The chef added that his experience cooking in the United States has been “excellent,” praising the availability of “high-quality local ingredients,” which are blended with Norwegian staples to ensure “continuity and a sense of home for the players throughout the tournament.”

Countering exaggerated online claims that the team imported 1,000 kilograms of food, Espeland clarified that the actual quantity was around 580 kilograms. This included 300 kilograms of Norwegian salmon and trout, 100 kilograms of halibut, 80 kilograms of Norwegian brown cheese, and 100 kilograms of Jarlsberg cheese.

He also dismissed social media suggestions that the team imported oranges from Norway, confirming that players are served freshly squeezed orange juice daily made from American oranges sourced locally.

Bringing specialist chefs and specific ingredients to global tournaments is a well-established practice among elite teams. For example, Argentina and Uruguay transported thousands of pounds of meat to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, while the United States team brought along familiar pantry staples such as oatmeal, Cheerios, peanut butter, and A1 Steak Sauce when they travelled to Brazil in 2014.

Nutrition experts have emphasised that such measures are entirely normal for top athletes competing internationally. Rafaela G Feresin, an associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University, explained: “Interpreting this practice as a lack of trust in the host nation’s food system misunderstands the purpose of high-performance nutrition.

“The objective is not to assess local food quality but to minimise unnecessary variation during competition. Bringing a chef and familiar ingredients to a major tournament is standard, performance-oriented logistics.”

Sports dietitian Amy Goodson, who has worked with professional teams, supported this view, noting that bringing food is about “control, consistency, and performance,” not suspicion or distrust.

She stressed: “Nutrition is a performance variable at the World Cup level. These athletes train, travel, and compete with elite intensity. What they eat directly affects energy levels, hydration, recovery, immune response, and even decision-making on the field.

“When margins are razor-thin, fuelling consistency becomes absolutely crucial.”