It’s very heavy, of course. I wish I could do something about this situation, but I have cramps in both legs and can’t move. I just have to apologize for that. My body tells me to stop, and then I can’t do anything, an exhausted Ostegaard tells NRK after a total meltdown.
The centre-back is very depressed when he meets NRK in the press area. In the dying minutes, with the score at 1-0 to Norway, Ostegaard gave the ball away to Lyndon Dykes, who equalized for an unknown Scotland.
PREGET: Leo Østigård during the interview with NRK.
Stupid choice
Just two minutes later, Scotland completed a quick turnaround, putting a long way to rest EC hopes in Norway.
Ostegaard, who has become Norway’s weakest player on the NRK stock exchange, sat on the grass and received some reassuring words from Erling Braut Haaland and his teammates.
National team captain Martin Ødegaard told NRK he was tired of getting questions about Østigård.
– This isn’t about Leo, it’s about the team. We win together and we lose together. I can’t bear to hear more talk about Leo. Midfielder says, we as a team are losing today.
Contracts: National team captain Martin Odegaard despairs. In the background, the Scots chant.
Photo: Fredrik Varfjell/NTB
A distraught Ostegaard told NRK that he actually started having cramps after 60 minutes, and that he said he was struggling.
– I’m speaking. I never want to become a player who says I want to be substituted, but I understand that something is not quite right and that I am struggling, says Ostegaard.
continued:
– I speak 3-4 times. Of course, it can be more obvious that those on the sidelines can get me out. We probably should have done that today, but it happened now. It was a stupid choice, Ostegaard says.
“The Norwegian people deserve so much more than that, and I wish I could do something about it,” adds a visibly impressed Ostegaard.
Solbakken answers
But national team manager Ståle Solbakken did not view Østigård’s problem as a desire for change.
In the post-loss press conference, Solbakken responds as follows if Østigård had indicated that he wanted to be replaced:
– no he did not. If you ask for a change, you do it like that, Solbakken says and rolls his hands.
– but if something went wrong, that was it. I had a good impression he could go the distance. He also finished playing, Solbakken says.
However, the national team manager is clear that Østigård He should Replaced – seen in the past.
Frustrated: Ståle Solbakken, like the Norwegian players, was extremely frustrated after the collapse against Scotland.
Photo: Heiko Junge/NTB
Solbakken had to endure a number of crucial questions for the changes made at the end of the match. Like Østigård, he earned three on the stock exchange.
The national team manager described the collapse as “the worst thing we’ve seen”. The loss meant that the hope of securing a direct ticket to the European Championships was fading at Ollival.
Cyprus awaits Tuesday in front of the sold-out Olival. Solbakken admits it will be difficult to get up in time for that match.
– This was a mental break from another world, says the national team manager.
Ødegaard also makes no secret of the fact that the players are far behind.
– It’s hard now. It is difficult to describe what we feel in words. More than ever before, we must stand together. And we support each other and make sure that we stand together, the captain of the national team tells NRK.
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