Olaval Stad (Netavisen): After a fateful collapse against Scotland on Saturday, Norway were looking to show themselves out of a better side in Tuesday’s European Championship qualifier against Cyprus.
Norway did, and Ståle Solbakken’s men had no problems beating relatively weak soccer nation Cyprus at Ullevaal Stadium. Norway eventually won 3-1 after one goal from Ola Solbakken and two goals from Erling Braut Haaland.
Haaland now has 24 goals in 25 international matches for Norway. In Tuesday’s match, Tore both surpassed Andre Flo and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the list of top scorers for the national team.
After the match, Martin Odegaard was hailed as the best on the field. The national team captain admits the Scotland game was hard to swallow.
Watch the interview with Ødegaard in the video window above!
I don’t think it is possible to delve further into the measure of disappointment. You will have to struggle with that. We feel we got paid very poorly for doing very well. We were in the basement for a long time, but we stood together and agreed to come here ourselves and all of Norway we can do better, and we did, Odegaard tells Netavien.
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Greetings to Odegaard
Norway came out full steam in Tuesday’s game, but still only led 1-0 into the second half. This is despite the fact that national team captain Odegaard outdid Ullevaal on the mat.
TV2’s football expert Jesper Mathisen was impressed by the 24-year-old’s performance.
– Ødegaard was great. Watch his touch and those first touches as he creates space and space for himself. He knows exactly when to bring the ball. He orientated himself beforehand, and then used this perfectly beautiful technique with his left foot. In addition, he does a tremendous job when Norway has to defend themselves, he said during the match.
– It was a giant, Mathisen added a little later.
The Arsenal man could easily have had more goalscoring passes in the game if his teammates were more accurate in front of goal, which was also pointed out by the sullen TV 2 commentator Oyvind.
– When we look at Martin Odegaard’s goals, he has good reason to blame his teammates a bit too. He could get a lot more passes than he is. He said he could have easily got three in the first half.
But in the second half, Ødegaard picked up a goal-scoring pass when he sent Haaland beautifully into the goal for Norway, 3-0.
Norway’s victory, Tuesday, is Norway’s first three points in the EC qualifiers for the tournament in Germany. After four games, Norway has four points.
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Huge opportunities
Extremely eager for revenge after Saturday’s fading against Scotland, Norway went straight on the offensive in Tuesday’s match.
Odegaard sent Haaland through the back room, but the pass was too difficult for the Manchester City striker to finish alone with the Cyprus goalkeeper. Soon after, Norway took a dangerous lead on one of the set-pieces, but a corner kick was cleared by Cyprus.
The angle at which Ødegard swung was also dangerous. Stefan Strandberg ran free and headed from seven metres.
Norway continued their attack, and once again a great chance came after a free kick. Clever and exhilarating corner form led to Patrick Burge finishing alone from seven or eight metres. However, the end went straight to the goalkeeper.
“Perfectly executed, right up to the end of the Glimt file,” said the indignant TV 2 commentator Oyvind.
Norway kept pressing, and after much backtracking, Birger Melling managed to shoot from close range. A great opportunity for the left back, but the ball hit the post.
– Is it possible? It is difficult to get any closer, said Al-Saker after Melling’s chance.
Norway sent in the lead
Norway got closer and closer, and in the 12th minute the men of the Norwegian national team scored a goal.
Sørloth put in a great preparation and stopped two Cypriot defenders before he could cross from the right flank. The ball passed just over Haaland, but behind him stood completely free Ola Solbakken.
From a corner, the Roma player fired the ball hard into the far corner. It was his first goal for the national team and Norway in the lead.
– That’s how it should be done! The Falcon shouted as the ball sang into the net.
Norway continued to produce chances after the opening goal, although they weren’t as close as they had been in the first quarter.
After the end of the first half, Ola Solbakken hit a fine pass into the penalty area for Cyprus, where Ødegaard slipped off. He tried a wide-sided ball into the far corner of the straight, but the captain hit it poorly.
Ten minutes later, Haaland had a great chance to make it 2-0. Odegaard sent the ball beautifully to the City star, who had a chance alone with the goalkeeper. Haaland went for power and fired the ball straight at the Cyprus goalkeeper from a short distance.
Just before the break, Norway had another great chance, and once again it was Odegaard who opened the Cypriot defense with a brilliant pass. The pass led to Fredrik Ursnes going in alone with the goalkeeper, but his shot hit the post.
– That pass there by Ødegaard, where you are able to strike him along the grass, with such fineness and force, perfectly arranged for Ursés. You can see he’s enjoying himself on the Ullevaal mat,” Mathisen said of the Arsenal player.
Haaland double
Shortly after, the referee blew for half time, and it was clear that Ødegaard was the best player in the first half.
He was in a class of his own in the first half, said Mathisen of the 24-year-old.
Norway continued to play good football in the second half. Sørloth had a good chance five minutes after half-time, but the Real Sociedad striker fired the ball wide from close range.
A few minutes later, it should be Norway. The referee pointed to the penalty mark after a handball on a Cypriot player, and Haaland stopped to take the penalty kick.
The 22-year-old was calm and sent the ball safely into the corner as the keeper went the other way.
Three minutes later, Haaland could celebrate another goal. Ødegaard appeared in the gap and served Haaland beautifully. He shook the Cypriot defender before passing the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs.
A great combination game for Norway’s biggest stars.
In extra time, Cyprus could also celebrate a goal when Grigoris Kastanos scored a consolation goal for the visitors. In any case, Norway deservedly won 3-1 on Tuesday night.
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