Northern Ireland v Norway Official Match Programme

NORWAY

FACTFILE

Not so long ago Norway were rated as one of the top teams in Europe, defeating some of the best teams in the world.

Ciljan Skjelbred announced his retirement from the national side. The 29-year-old midfielder, who plays for Hertha Berlin, stated that he no longer had the motivation necessary to play for the national team. Another player who will miss the match is 30-year- old defender Alexander Tettey of Norwich City, who also announced his retirement from international football - due to recurring ankle injuries. Meanwhile, Haitam Aleesami is suspended for this evening’s game and will be a loss. The 25-year-old left-sided defender, who can also operate on the left wing, joined Serie A side Palermo last August and has become a vital part of the team. He has played in all four WC 2018 qualifiers to date but picked up his second yellow card in his country’s last match against the Czechs. The last time Norway qualified for a major tournament was Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium. They defeated Spain, drew with Slovenia and lost to Yugoslavia – and went home early. Despite having top players such as John Carew, John Arne Riise, Brede Hangeland and Morten Gamst Pedersen they have failed to qualify for the big stage since. The closest they came was in the qualifiers for Euro 2008, but they were pipped by Turkey to the runner-up spot in their group. What a contrast to October 1993 when Egil Olsen’s side were rated second in the world behind Brazil. They had a rock-solid defence built around Rune Bratseth, Ronny Johnsen and Henning Berg, a midfield filled with combative and highly skilled ball players - Erik Mykland, Oyvind Leonhardsen, Stale Solbakken and Kjetil Rekdal - and a highly gifted attack featuring Jan Aage Fjortoft, Lars Bohinen

The Norwegians were qualifiers for World Cups and European Championships in the 1990s and they were even ranked as high as second in the FIFA ratings. Among their notable triumphs were victories over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup finals and Spain at Euro 2000. Now, however, Norway sit in fifth place in Qualifying Group C for World Cup 2018 and a defeat to Northern Ireland this evening would likely spell the end of any chance of reaching the finals in Russia next year. After a poor start in the qualifiers for Euro 2016 coach Per-Mathias Hogmo’s charges revived hopes of automatic qualification with wins over Bulgaria (a), Croatia (h) and Malta (h) but a 2-1 defeat to Italy in Rome meant that they had to face Hungary in the play-offs. And against the Magyars they went down 1-0 at home and lost 2-1 away. The Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, once a stronghold where visiting teams rarely escaped with a point, has lost its air of invincibility in recent years. For many Norwegian fans the depths were plumbed last September in a WC 2018 qualifier when world champions Germany outclassed their hosts on their way to a 3-0 victory. Defeat to Germany was followed by a 1-0 loss away to Azerbaijan the following month, although there was some joy last October thanks to a 4-1 home win against San Marino. Mind you, a 2-1 defeat away to the Czech Republic in November has left Norway second from bottom in Group C with three points out of a possible 12. That result was followed by the dismissal of coach Per-Mathias Hogmo, who had been at the helm since 2013. On 1 February this year Swedish coach Lars Lagerback, who masterminded Iceland’s success in Euro 2016, was appointed. However, the new man in charge was dealt a blow five weeks ago when Norway team captain Per

and Tore Andre Flo. Words: Roy Kitson

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