It became clear when the group draw was held in Frankfurt on Sunday.
– The most important thing when drawing seed levels A and B was to avoid getting into group B or C. We did, and we should be satisfied with that. After that we could have been more fortunate, national team manager Ståle Solbakken told TV 2.
Georgia is a team that can beat everyone in this group. They took a 1-0 lead against Spain until the second leg of the previous qualifiers had ten seconds left and beat Sweden 2-0. He continued, “They can beat anyone, and that can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.”
Norway was ranked third in the lottery. With a better result in the recently concluded National League, Ståle Solbakken’s crew will finish at a higher level.
The states were drawn into seven groups of five teams and three of six teams. The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and Italy will participate in the National League qualifiers this summer, and therefore they have been placed in groups of just five teams.
favorites Spain
Spain is the natural favorite in the Norway group. After that, it became more open about who the second team would be.
Norway met Spain in qualifying for the European Championship in 2019 and 2003. None of the four meetings ended with Norway winning. Three losses and a draw was the result.
“I’m sure we can beat Spain in Olival on a good day,” said national team coach Solbakken, who believes everyone wants to beat everyone in the group.
– It was a good group. We avoided France and England. We have to show our level. We are happy to get to Norway. Haaland is the biggest star in world football right now. Spain coach Luis Enrique told TV 2: It will be difficult, but we will try to find the level to beat Norway.
The last time Norway met Scotland in a qualifying match was in 2009. Then there were Norway’s four points in two matches. The match was won at home in Olival with a score of 4-0.
Scotland will be a tough opponent, but it’s not like we can’t beat them on a good day. It’s not as if we should feel inferior to Scotland. “I think this combination will be very smooth,” Solbakken said.
Starting next year
Georgia has met Norway three times before. All settlements ended with a Norwegian victory.
Historically, you have much more meetings with Cyprus. The previous double was in the National League in 2018. Norway then won 2-0 at home and away.
Next year’s EC qualifiers will take place, with the top two teams in each of the 10 groups going to the play-offs with host country Germany.
The last three places of the European Commission are distributed in the National League match. The four best teams from Divisions A, B and C respectively, who have not already qualified for the tournament, get an extra chance. Norway ranks eighth in the “B” rating. Thus, four of the seven top-ranked teams must secure an EC Norway ticket to have such an opportunity.
Norway has not participated in the men’s senior final since 2000. With international stars such as Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard, there are expectations for the Norwegian to participate in the European Commission in Germany.
More difficult combinations
Sunday’s draw ended worse for many other countries. The Netherlands and France ended up in Group B along with Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar.
In the third group, Italy and England joined Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta. The entire lottery ended as follows:
* Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus.
* Group B: Netherlands, France, Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar.
* Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta.
* Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia.
* Group E: Poland, Czech Republic, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova.
* Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia.
* Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania.
* Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino.
* Group A: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra.
* Group X: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein.
The European Group play-off matches will be played in Germany from 14 June to 14 July 2024.
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