Northern Ireland v Norway

FACTFILE NORWAY Words Liam Blackburn

INTERNATIONAL

and Ronny Johnsen – both Champions League winners with Manchester United – as well as Tore Andre Flo and Egil Ostenstad. » Norway topped their 1994 World Cup qualification group ahead of Netherlands and England to reach the finals, where they beat Mexico but exited at the group stage despite claiming four points from three games. » Four years later they were back on the global stage and it was then that they recorded their most memorable victory, beating World Cup holders Brazil 2-1. » The Norwegians had drawn with Morocco and Scotland but were heading out when trailing 1-0 in the final group game. Yet, with seven minutes to go, Flo equalised and Kjetil Rekdal's 88th minute penalty sealed qualification. » A year earlier Norway had beaten Brazil 4-2 and they remain unbeaten in four games against the five-time world champions. » Their run at the 1998 World Cup was ended by a 1-0 last 16 loss to Italy and Olsen stepped down after the tournament. » His assistant, Nils Johan Semb, took over and a squad including Steffen Iversen, John Carew and John Arne Riise – who would go on to be Norway's most-capped player – qualified for Euro 2000, where the country once again exited at group stage with four points despite a win over Spain in their opening fixture. » That tournament was the last to feature Norway, who lost play-off ties for Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2016. » They were the opponents for Michael O'Neill's first Northern Ireland game as manager in 2012, a 3-0 victory for Norway following on from 4-0 and 4-1 friendly wins in Belfast in the earlier part of the century. » O'Neill's team were a different animal when they beat Norway 2-0 in March 2017, though, and Northern Ireland had already secured a play-off place for the 2018 World Cup prior to kick-off the following October when the hosts won 1-0 in Oslo. » However, that game showed the improvements made under Lars Lagerback, and the emergence of Borussia Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland and maturation of Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard has added to the excitement surrounding this team.

» It has been 20 years since Norway qualified for a major tournament, but with an experienced international coach now in charge of some of the world's most promising youngsters there has been a surge of optimism in Oslo and beyond. » Norway came into this international break on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run and, though they finished third in their Euro 2020 qualifying group behind Spain and Sweden, they still have a play-off berth having won their UEFA Nations League group. » Three of their four appearances at major finals came between 1994 and 2000 as they reached two World Cups as well as Euro 2000, having first featured at the 1938 World Cup, where they lost to eventual winners Italy in extra time. » Two years prior to that Norway won the bronze medal at the Olympics having beaten hosts Germany in the quarter-finals earlier in the tournament. » Their squad then included captain Jorgen Juve, who remains Norway's all-time top scorer with 33 goals in 45 games, and Arne Brustad, who scored a hat-trick in the bronze medal match. » Fallow decades followed the 1930s, however, which explained why commentator Bjorge Lillelien was so excited by a 2-1 World Cup qualification win over England in 1981 in Oslo. » In one of the most iconic pieces of commentary of all time, Lillelien famously said: "Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher – can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher? Your boys took one hell of a beating!” » Results improved in the 1990s following the appointment of Egil Olsen and, in 1993, shortly after FIFA launched the world rankings system, Norway were second, behind only Brazil. » That period of success coincided with a golden run for the women's team, who won the 1995 World Cup, the European Championship in 1987 and 1993, as well as the 2000 Olympics. » The men's team benefitted from a glut of Premier League players during that era, including Stig Inge Bjornebye, Gunnar Halle, Henning Berg, Oyvind Leonhardsen, Alf-Inge Haaland, Jan Age Fjortoft and Lars Bohinen. Following them were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

34

www.irishfa.com