Warns before fate week
OSLO / BERGEN (Dagbladet): – The national team looks better and better, says Åge Hareide (68) to Dagbladet.
– It is good that they have come so far that they can fight for a playoff. I expect them to beat Latvia (Saturday). Then it’s about them not losing to the Netherlands (next Tuesday). If they play a draw, they are guaranteed a place in the playoffs. It is taken in itself the Rosenborg boss, who has World Cup experience with Denmark, and says that the task is great.
Ståle Solbakken (53) gathered the squad in Oslo yesterday. The national team is now entering a full decision week.
When Solbakken took over from Lars Lagerbäck last autumn, experts thought he had to get the World Cup qualifier to practice. It is the qualification for the European Championships in 2024 that counts, it sounded.
Instead, Solbakken has put Norway in a favorable position. With only two games left, the team is two points behind the Netherlands.
If Solbakken and co. wins against Latvia on fire days, it will be a group final in Rotterdam on Tuesday next week. In the pot is the World Cup finals in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 next year.
Beating the Netherlands on a wild and boiling De Kuip becomes difficult. At the same time, there is something brutally honest about it: Should Norway have something to do in the World Cup finals, the team is dependent on achievement nights like this.
Men Hareide warns:
– It will be a tough match against the Netherlands. And it will be tough matches if we end up in the playoffs. But it’s nice to see the national team play football again. For the future, there is a huge hope that we can be in a playoff.
– Are you surprised by what Solbakken has done with Norway?
– No, Ståle has done a good job in FC Copenhagen and is a good coach. So I’m not very surprised.
Norway will be weakened by the fact that Erling Braut Haaland and Patrick Berg are definitely out. Kristoffer Ajer is not relevant either.
Profiles such as Martin Ødegaard, Jens Petter Hauge and Alexander Sørloth have varied in the form of the club teams.
Among those who delivered the goods this weekend were Mathias Normann (Norwich), Julian Ryerson (Union Berlin), Morten Thorsby (Sampdoria) and Veton Berisha (Viking). All scores. But they are traditionally no match winners for Norway.
In that sense, there is a lot of uncertainty around the crew Ståle Solbakken has at his disposal. Then the question is what the Eliteserien’s great form player – Bodø / Glimt’s Ola Solbakken – can accomplish.
Coach Solbakken met the media at Ullevaal Stadium yesterday afternoon. In the October collection, he had to struggle with ten delays, but it looks better this time.
– We are waiting for Morten Thorsby and Birger Meling. But all the reports indicate that nothing happened on Sunday which means that they can not train fully from Wednesday, he says.
– We get good training on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be the key workouts this week.
WC QUALITY
The Netherlands | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 29 | – | 6 | 19 |
Norway | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | – | 6 | 17 |
Turkey | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 19 | – | 15 | 15 |
Montenegro | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | – | 11 | 11 |
Latvia | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | – | 13 | 5 |
Gibraltar | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | – | 34 | 0 |