This was confirmed by Ståle Solbakken at a press conference on Tuesday. — Fredrik has been telling me for quite some time that he needs to breathe between the games in Benfica. We have had an ongoing dialogue about how to make this work. I managed to persuade him for a long time that he should not retire, but we also agreed that if he felt the same need to, what shall we say, do something else when we are in the national team, says Solbakken. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB The news came like lightning from the blue when Ståle Solbakken met the press on Tuesday to present the national team squad for the upcoming private international matches against the Czech Republic and Slovakia later in March. – I feel that I want more time and freedom to prioritize other things than football in my life. That is why I choose to join the national team. Ståle and I have had good conversations about this over a long period. It is a difficult decision, but something I feel is right for myself and what I want to prioritize, says Aursnes in a press release published on the NFF’s website. Solbakken says that this is something he and Aursnes have been talking about for six months. He says that they now agreed that Solbakken should not try to persuade him to continue any longer. – As of now, Fredrik does not want to be part of us. We keep the door open, if he has second thoughts, says Solbakken. Sunnmøringen got the national team debut from Ståle Solbakken in June 2021 and has since played 20 games with the Norwegian flag on his chest. Last year he scored his first, so far only and possibly very last national team goal in a 4-0 win over Cyprus. – He needs something other than football. When he plays at the level he does, he feels he needs something else to maintain his desire to play football but at the same time lead a meaningful life. We have to respect that, says Solbakken. Aursnes has, since the transition from Dutch to Portuguese football, been a fixture in a Benfica team that has fought for titles and been in the Champions League. There he has been given an important role in several different positions, and the versatile 28-year-old has played on both backs, in midfield and occasionally as a winger.
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