– Now I will go home and order tickets to the European Championships in Germany right away, says news expert Åge Hareide after Norway’s impressive 3-2 victory against Sweden at Ullevaal Stadium on Sunday night. – Why should you do that? – The security I see in the team, and the control they have against Sweden, which is a good team – it gives me great faith in the future. And these are players who just want to get better. Now Norway will probably win this group and move up to level A in the National League. Then we get big nations at Ullevaal and evenings like this here again, and it needs Norwegian football. In addition, we have opened the back door and got a safety net in a playoff if we do not succeed in the European Championship qualifiers, says Hareide. – The advantage of working in the media news EXPERT: Åge Hareide. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB When news tells national team manager Ståle Solbakken what Hareide has said, the Norway manager must smile. – It is the advantage of working in the media and not sitting here, Solbakken says with a smile from the podium at the press conference after the match. However, he does not want to start looking at hotels in Germany completely yet. – I thank you for the trust, but I do not think any national team manager, not even Åge when he sat here, had received that congratulation, says Solbakken. Hareide, who is himself a former national team manager, commented on the Sweden match on radio for news. The 68-year-old is greatly impressed by Solbakken’s disciples. – Norway was the best tactical, Sweden never found out about us, while we found out about them. They made mistakes time after time because Norway was good tactically. Norway was also better technically with better skills than them, and they were best physically and had power in them throughout the match. They also have a mental strength in the team now, and have really come to believe that this can go the right way, says Hareide. – Very good “coaching” Solbakken thinks it is important to point out that the matches could have quickly ended with other figures than they have done in both Stockholm and Oslo. – We must have respect for the fact that we, over the two matches, have had margins with us. But we have also been the best team, he states to news. – How do you assess the chances of winning the group now? – I do not spend time on that. Now we can hope that the players return in the same condition, and that those who will change club get playing time. We have had a little too little playing time for a little too many players, especially at the back of the field. If they gain the trust of the clubs as they are, we will be better equipped, says the national team manager. He surprised by making six changes to the team since the Slovenia match on Thursday. When asked by VG about how he assesses his own coaching efforts on Sunday, Solbakken smiled broadly: – It was very good “coaching”. It was good before the match, and there were three very good substitutions during the match that gave us peace of mind. Sometimes it works, and today it was very good, he says and chuckles. Probably knowing that there would probably be harsh criticism of the many changes in the team selection if the match had gone awry. – Have something going on Instead, it was a party night of the rare at Ullevaal. Norway took a well-deserved victory against a team that is usually far better. Solbakken believes that positivity prevails in all stages now. – I think you can see in this whole gang here that they love to play on the national team. They love to represent Norway and try to create some bigger moments again. We have the prerequisite for that, if we can build on what we have done now. We have a lot to do in many of the game’s phases, but we have something going on, says Solbakken. It is not only from the Norwegian team that the national team receives praise after the June gathering. Sweden profile Emil Forsberg praises Norway after the two close matches last week. – Norway is a team in progress. They bring out young, good players, and they bring out a team now that is doing well. I think Norway is growing to become a good national team. You have to respect that, it’s cool. Unfortunately, they win two matches against us, but I still think there are two teams that are very even, says Emil Forsberg to news. – We have everything in our own hands National team captain Martin Ødegaard is now looking forward to ending the group game in September. – We have everything in our own hands and are in a good position. We’ll see what happens in the second match, but things look good. We must not take off. We must continue to be humble and work hard, then there will be two nice matches where we will perform again, Ødegaard told news after the match on Sunday. His mood was hardly worsened by the fact that “the second match”, Slovenia-Serbia, ended 2-2. This means that Norway is the group winner if there are points against Slovenia in the next match and Serbia loses against Sweden. If Norway loses to Slovenia in the next match, and Serbia beats Sweden, it will hold on to a draw in the last match against Serbia to secure the group victory. In other words, it looks very bright with Norwegian eyes before the two decisive matches. What is your verdict on Norway’s match against Sweden? Very impressive Good Had expected more Very disappointing Show result If Norway wins the group, it will lead to a promotion to level A in the National League, which will provide matching against Europe’s very best nations in the next edition of the tournament played in 2024 and 2025. But it will also give Norway an extra chance in the playoffs in the spring of 2024 if the ordinary European Championship qualifier in 2023 fails. But perhaps even more important: A victory in the group will probably ensure that Norway becomes the second seed for the European Championship draw in Frankfurt on 9 October. Then the road to the European Championships will probably be much easier. Ståle Solbakken will probably lie down with a smile around his mouth in the next few days.
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Hareide will order EC ticket – gets a clear answer from Solbakken – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
