It came to light when Solbakken on Tuesday morning called out the national team for the upcoming international matches against Cyprus and Spain. – I spoke to (U21 coach) Jalland before the last meeting as well, about whether he was going to come in then, but then he hadn’t played any A games yet. We knew we were probably going to use Nusa, so it’s about finding the balance, Solbakken began. – Then he got the league cup match against Newcastle where he played in a different position than in all the pre-season matches for City, then he played on the right wing, so there was a lot of support passes and little progress. Against Newcastle he played more inside runner, where he recovered better from it. And then he came in as a different type of inside runner against Wolverhampton, and did well in both, says the national team manager. The squad against Cyprus and Spain Goalkeepers: Ørjan NylandMathias DyngelandEgil Selvik Defenders: Kristoffer AjerBirger MelingStian Rode GregersenMarcus Holmgren PedersenJulian RyersonStefan StrandbergLeo ØstigårdFredrik Bjørkan Midfielders: Fredrik AursnesPatrick BergSander BergeOla SolbakkenMorten ThorsbyOsame SahraouiKristian ThorstvedtHugo VetlesenMartin ØdegaardAntonio NusaOscar Bobb Haaland Forwards: Erling Braut Bård FinneJørgen Strand LarsenAlexander Sørloth A lot of trust in City Oscar Bobb is predicted to have a bright future, and this season is a permanent part of Manchester City’s A-team after being named academy player of the year at the big club two seasons in a row. This season, the Oslo boy has already had the opportunity to try out in several matches for the world’s best club team, the team that won both the Premier League, the FA Cup and, not least, the Champions League last season. As U21 national team manager Jan Peder Jalland ironically expressed himself when he selected an U21 squad without Bobb: – He hasn’t had anything special for the arena lately… Guardiola with Solbakken message Bobb played 90 minutes in the tough away league cup match against Newcastle last week, and impressed with a number of fine involvements, and when City needed scores against Wolverhampton at the weekend, Pep Guardiola threw in the Norwegian youngster already at half-time. The powerful City manager hinted at the weekend that the 20-year-old is ready to be included in Norway’s A national team squad. – I think Solbakken saw the Newcastle game and how well he played there, against a Mesterliga team, and it was away. But the decision lies with him (Solbakken), Guardiola told VG at a press conference before the match against Wolverhampton. Solbakken says at the press conference on Tuesday that he has not had time to have any dialogue with the City manager before the draw. – I have not spoken to him, I think he is satisfied, otherwise he would not have put him on the pitch against Wolverhampton, he says. Nusa trouble The Norwegian shooting star Antonio Nusa has struggled since he broke through on the Norwegian A national team last season, where he made two excellent international appearances against Jordan and Georgia. But it has been rough for the great talent, and since he scored two assists against Georgia, he has only played 23 minutes for Club Brugge due to a back injury. In recent games, he has not been in the squad for the Belgian club. Nevertheless, Nusa is selected for the squad. – I texted him last night and he felt fine then. Then Ronny (Deila) is Norwegian, and has to understand that he has to use him a little so that we are as well prepared as possible. It can’t be difficult to understand, says Solbakken with a smile. Dismissed son The national team boss chose to withdraw his own son Markus from the squad on Tuesday. – I think he takes that message with stoic calm. Viking coach Morten Jensen conveys to him at training today that he will not be taking part, so he understands. If he doesn’t get it, he’ll probably call tonight, says Solbakken with a smile. He says there are several considerations that came at the expense of, among other things, his son this time: – We have taken out some experienced boys now to get the overall picture right, if we have to attack or close matches. We have been too bad to close games towards the end, and perhaps we have not had enough options on the bench in the defensive part, he says. A small miracle is needed for Norway to capture one of the top two places in the group, which gives a direct European Championship place. Here are the remaining games for the three teams in the standings: Scotland: Spain (away) Georgia (away) Norway (home) Spain: Scotland (home) Norway (away) Cyprus (away) Georgia (home) Norway: Cyprus (away) )Spain (home)Scotland (away) Norway’s game against Cyprus will be played on 12 October, before Spain await in front of a packed Ullevaal on 15 October. The qualifier ends with an away game against Scotland on 19 November.
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Solbakken took out Bobb – injured Nusa also in the squad – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
