Norway failed to start international footballl. Despite having the Premier League’s two biggest stars in Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City), the Scandinavian team is about to be left out of another major tournament. European Cup in 2024.
Despite having these players as well as players like Sorloth (Villarreal) or Aursnes (Benfica), Norway will be eliminated if they lose against Spain this Sunday and a draw will almost leave them out. They also could not play in Euro 2021 and 2022 Qatar World Cup..
The chance to qualify for the play-offs was wasted They finished their UEFA Nations League group in second place, behind Serbia.
Martin Odegaard attended the press conference and said: “I don’t have a clear answer” He emphasized that he did not throw in the towel despite this situation and “all is not lost yet” Regarding the option to win the remaining two matches against Spain and Scotland in Glasgow.
Odegaard understands that they are paying in this classification “Bad start of the group with matches against Scotland and Georgia“, but looks to the future with optimism: “We grow, we develop and we learn“. Another factor for hope is As Erling Halaand describes it, “having the best of all worlds”.
Norway is still a young team and they believe they can consolidate their strength by holding on to the good results of the lower teams. For example, the under-19 team reached the semi-finals of the last European Championship and lost to Portugal.
Without being angry at Madrid
As for his time at Real Madrid, he showed no hard feelings for leaving without much opportunity. “I won’t say anything bad about Madrid. It was a good experience. It allowed me to grow as a player and as a person. “It meant a lot to me and I think I left at the right time.”
On a personal level, the midfielder insisted: “I have no desire for revenge” for facing the Spanish team and without his time in LaLiga “I wouldn’t be able to reach the level I’m at now.”
Aries, strong
If the coach is Stale Solbakken, Stating that he was not as conscientious as Odegaard, he said: “Our situation is disappointing.“The results left us in a very precarious position.”
Solbakken still believes Norway can win Spain because “we showed that we can have good phases of the game at home”but praised De la Fuente’s team for being “a team that controls the ball well and is aggressive in recovery.”
He said he had from his team”“to two players with colds”, However, he is confident that he will have the entire squad ready against Spain.