Olivalstadion (Nitavisen): – I didn't know anything. It was very surprising, says Jostein Gundersen on the phone with Netavisen.
The 28-year-old had a few hours to collect himself after being named in his first national team squad when Stahl Solbakken presented the players with Norway when they meet Kosovo and Denmark at the start of July.
On the list was Gundersen, who had never before been selected for the national team.
The Glimt player, who arrived from Tromsø before the season, says he was in the strength room at Aspmeira during the withdrawal, while teammate Ulrike Saltnes was watching the broadcast.
– He thought it was a good opportunity for me, so I almost felt nervous and excited. Then he shouted at her, Gundersen tells Netafsen.
– I had not participated in the national team before, so it was a nice surprise, he says.
Had to cancel vacation plans
The goalkeeper came from Tromsø before the start of the season and recently covered seven miles.
He played for a year in Tromsø, and the national team was just a pipe dream.
-If I had put this on the line a year ago, I would have gotten a lot more in return. I may have been away for a while, but this makes me proud. I have a naive belief in myself and the way I work.
The withdrawal also means that Gundersen will have to change his plans in June, when he was initially given a few weeks off as a result of the national team's break.
His place in the national team was so surprising that he and his girlfriend, Soneva Segelsten, booked a trip to the French Riviera while Norway was playing international matches.
There will be nothing of that trip now.
– We envisioned having fun in the south of France, so I booked a trip and traveled to Nice with my girlfriend, but that trip was cancelled. He smiles about the Nice trip too. TV 2 Referred to after withdrawal.
Solbakin: – He has his strength in the penalty area
Gundersen has been hugely impressed by Glimt's squad following the pre-season transfer, and will enter the national team as a centre-back number five.
He will compete with Kristoffer Agger, Leo Skerry Østegaard and Andreas Hansch Olsen for one of the centre-back positions against Kosovo and Denmark.
– There is a player who has great strength inside the box. He's a safe passer, so he faces a bit more challenges when things go quickly around his legs, but then we'll test him there, says Solbakken after taking the 28-year-old off.
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