Slovenia – Norway: Haaland cannot prevent Norway from falling to Slovenia
men Nations League B, Group 4, it was top to bottom as Norway traveled to Slovenia with the hosts surprisingly winning 2-1 to overtake Sweden in third place, at least for a few hours.
Norway they had the better of the first half, dominating possession and creating several important chances, but failed to make their dominance really count, pulling off just one good save Jan Oblak into the home goal.
Martin Odegaard began to drop deeper and deeper, trying to create as Slovenia disappointed Norway as the half went on.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was quiet for the most part, but came to life on a few occasions when he got the ball.
He shot just wide in the 36th minute after being played down the channel.
At the start of the second half, Norway‘s high press paid off and rebounded Mo Elyounoussi fell on Haaland who was usually ruthless and hit home on spin. A VAR check confirmed that the striker was onside.
After the goal, the visitors started to play more confidently and move the ball more stylishly and decisively.
Chances were still difficult, but in the 64th minute, Slovenia almost equalized when they did Petar Stojanovic meandering his way towards his destination only to stumble at last.
However, the equalizer came soon after Benjamin Šeško found space for the crossbar on the left and the former Sporting CP striker Andrej Sporar slid in at the back post to divert it home.
In the 81st minute, Šeško became one of the scorers in a spectacular way, when he received the ball perfectly and launched a low half-volley over the goal, which bounced past the goalkeeper. Orjan Nylandwho may think he could reach his destination faster.
This was the second goal of the Slovenian winger in five Nations League matches.
Slovenia expected the match for a big three points and a result that will raise some eyebrows in Europe.
This keeps them hoping to avoid relegation.
forward, Norway hosts Serbia, who are second in the group, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Slovenia will also travel to Sweden on Tuesday, which will play Serbia later on Saturday.