Here is news expert Kristoffer Løkberg’s assessment of the Norwegian players against Slovenia: Egil Selvik – 5: Out on the road before the penalty kick against. Brilliant equipment that averted a great opportunity just before the break. Help from the post soon after. Stressed in a couple of situations with the ball, but mostly sensible solutions. Little to do after the break, but good with the ball at his feet. Marcus Holmgren Pedersen – 5: Wasted his one post opportunity, on a rare offensive visit before the break. Struggled to find the rhythm in the offensive game, usually ended with an early support pass. Better with after the break with an inside runner in the space in front of him and Sørloth with whom he has played more often. Nice post for a good Thorsby opportunity. Defensively good control on his part, used his speed to ward off a couple of situations. Excellent play for Thorsby before 4-1. Torbjørn Heggem – 3: Close finish already after the minute. Wanted to look for offensive solutions with the ball, but horribly broken against after just under half an hour and then became more uncertain with the ball. Way too late inside and makes a penalty kick on the first situation inside the own box. Showed good speed in a race duel shortly afterwards. Started the second half sensibly by using his left foot diagonally towards Sørloth, but really escaped the horror after a pass straight into Sesko’s back and subsequent missed ball. Played up impressively after the near-accident, it testifies to mental strength. Leo Østigård – 5: Broke in front when Slovenia could create a good opportunity early on. Drove too far forward before the post as the first to receive a penalty kick. Sesko in behind the back when he pushed forward just before the break, saved by Selvik. Untidy with the ball, in the first half. As usual stood well in aerial duels, even against big, strong Sesko. Saved his partner Heggem from a nightmare debut for the history books just after the break. Better also with the ball after the break, among other things started the attack that led to the 3-1 score with a very good play for Haaland. Played very well after the break. Julian Ryerson – 7: Poor communication early on with Heggem, but played up quickly. Aggressive and offensive defensive play. Often had to search inside offensively, because Nusa is wide, and it is not an easy exercise. Good post against Sørloth just before the break. Felt even better after the break with an inside runner in the space in front of him, and was just about everywhere. Played with a delicious energy, which is guaranteed to rub off on his teammates. Aron Dønnum – 4: Conscientious defensive work, but struggled to find rhythm offensively. Good at protecting the ball, but rarely recovered straight-faced. It is also about the rhythm of the game and the interaction with those around you. Almost a good opportunity about the only time he got one in the first half. Replaced at halftime. Lasse Berg Johnsen – 6: Down and claimed the ball immediately, just like he does in Malmö. Steady in positioning defensively. Moveable and playable. Good at picking second balls. Nice offensive involvement and shot attempt in overtime in the first half. Opened the second half in the deep midfield role, and continued with his steady play. Replaced after 60 minutes, but he can really be proud of his national team debut. Sander Berge – 8: Brilliant in the duel from the start, and headed the ball to Sørloth for 1-0. Good at the recycling game. Brilliant ball directly into the back room against Haaland after 25. Important block after 35. Enormous to win all loose balls, as before 2-1. The pass also perfectly weighted to the world’s best striker. Continued with a very steady second half. Make almost no mistakes. Sometimes looks like he plays against boy players so strong and fast he is. Antonio Nusa – 9 – Norway’s best: Nice chip into the box 1 min. Football art a few minutes later. Crazy first quarter, where he did what he wanted. Then got up to double protection, then chose solutions that were a bit too difficult, but made up to several opponents dizzy in the first round. Also wreaked havoc with their opponents in the second half, serving us another fantastic score to make it 3-1. Alexander Sørloth – 7: Calm and nice when he took care of the ball and pushed it on to Nusa for the goal assist. Huge raid soon after. Good at making a lot out of little, strong error return and in the duel game, but often became a lot almost in the first half. Out on the right wing after the break. Only one good block away from scoring early after the break. New goal-scoring pass after a nice turn of the game, but can thank Nusa for his class as well. Very good at turning inside and setting up teammates throughout the second half. Erling Braut Haaland – 8: Worked wisely and well defensively. Often stood correctly, put in the defensive actions at the right time. Huge finish on the post on his first opportunity after 25 minutes. Shows his world class in the 2-1 score. Nice move and shot attempt in overtime in the first half. Good in the combination game with both Sørloth and Thorsby after the break. Always active and a threat for Slovenia. Perfectly weighted pass to Jens Petter Hauge before 4-1. Ståle Solbakken – 8: Had a difficult task with so many failures. Tough team selection with, among others, debutant Berg Johnsen. Right there he hit the spot. Also hit very well with a change of formation in the break, got more control of the game, but also huge offensive output. Nice timing with Thorstvedt in for Berg Johnsen as well, despite the fact that the latter had played a very good game. Bounced back hard after the fade in Linz, he can really sleep well tonight. Morten Thorsby – 7: Came on for Dønnum in the break. Started with a couple of excellent offensive involvements, could get a goal-scoring pass. Signal player defensively throughout the half. Delicious combination with Haaland before the nail in the coffin to 4-1. Kristian Thorstvedt – 7: Excellent first involvement with a little Zidane feint. Clearly playful and active. Very skilled at protecting the ball and turning himself around. A brilliant dive, did he even lose the ball? * A player must have played more than 30 minutes to be considered.
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Antonio Nusa scored two goals as Norway won 4-1 against Slovenia in the National League – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
