Norway started poorly against Italy, but boosted significantly in the second half. Heroic effort notwithstanding: Norway is out of the European Under-21 group.
With this, France and Spain qualified from the group, while Italy and Norway finished the tournament.
– I’m incredibly proud of the team here, we’re playing strong against Italy, who have many good players. But it’s sad not to go one goal ahead, coach Lev Gunnar Smirod sums up after the match.
Bothem was also proud of the day’s efforts:
– We run and fight, but unfortunately it didn’t last. Bothem’s captain told NRK: We beat a strong team, and I’m very proud of what we’re doing today.
Claim the starting point
The starting point was difficult: Norway had to win by two goals while France had to beat Switzerland. The French did the job, but the job against Italy was very difficult.
20 minutes into the second half, everyone with a Norwegian passport in Cluj-Napoca was on fire when Erik Bothem scored 1-0. At about the same second, France took the lead, and then Norway were one goal away from the quarter-final against Spain on Saturday.
It didn’t turn out that way. Antonio Nossa, Oussama Sahraoui and Jesper Daland were among those who tried their hand at the match, to no avail.
Strong second half from Norway
Norway took advantage of the break well, showing a completely different side in the second half. From a 45-minute draw through the first half, the game opened up, and chances poured in from both teams. Norway in particular played aggressively, scoring in the 65th minute, as Erik Bothem got a long overdue knowledge net.
With this, Norway was only one goal away from qualifying for the play-offs, but unfortunately good chances were missed, and the match ended 1-0 to Norway. Despite the victory: Norway is out of the European Under-21 group.
Follow Norway’s fight for destiny here!
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