Aasgaard is one of three players at the tournament who once played for Liverpool schoolboys, the others being England’s Anthony Gordon and Ipswich striker Ali Al-Hamadi, who is in the Iraq squad. Another alumnus is Anthony Barry, who is part of the England coaching team.
Al-Hamadi and Aasgaard could face each other when Norway play Iraq on Tuesday in their opening game in Group I
Jonathan, who was principal cellist with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, will have to watch the game in a London hotel at 23:00 BST, because he is playing a concert in the capital.
“Then I am flying over for the second game against Senegal. But my wife and my other children, they will be there for the first two games, so that’s very exciting,” he said.
He added: “It’s absolutely manic at the moment in Norway. My brother, Oliver, in Oslo, he made a little film from the supermarket and he was kind of just filming all the products they sell, and every single product in the whole shop will have the face of one of the Norway players in the squad.
“So the expectations are very, very high. I’ve been racking my brain to see if I can link any cello music to the World Cup and football.
“The closest I’ve come is, I think, Zadok The Priest by Handel, which is used for the Champions League theme.
“I think if Norway was to win the tournament, I think Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony or something like Ode to Joy is in order.”