Norges World Cup hopes are out after the loss against the Netherlands in Rotterdam on Tuesday night.
It was a disappointed national team manager Ståle Solbakken who showed up at the press conference after the match.
This was the eleventh championship in a row Norway fails to qualify for.
– Did not follow
When asked by VG if many have an unrealistic picture of how good the Norwegian players actually are, Solbakken moved out on a longer series of thoughts where he fired several shots at many of his former teammates on the national team.
– I think many are realistic, those who are unrealistic are often those who have played on the national team in the 90s, who have not followed. There are some who think you can do exactly the same as then. It is often something that affects public opinion and maybe some of you in the press, says Solbakken.
He believes it is a very realistic goal that Norway should be ahead of a team like Turkey after ten games, and that no one thinks Norwegian players are far better than they actually are.
Solbakken does not mention any names, but mentions the «90s gang» several times.
– It is so easy to throw yourself over it that we do not qualify. I say that to the boys too, we have to live with that until we stand there. I am 100 percent sure, at least 99, that we will be in the European Championships in Germany in 2024 if we continue the trend we are in now. We have a lot to build on, and must not let ourselves be pissed off. We will take constructive criticism, but we will also see the big picture, he says.
– Annoys me
Solbakken thinks Norway is on the right track, and actually did a pretty good qualifier.
He points to unfortunate circumstances such as the home game that was played on Spanish grass in Marbella, or “Bent Høie testimonalial” as he calls it, and believes the team is proving that the championship drought is soon over.
– You have to look a little behind it (the results). The 90’s and Drillo enthusiasts, both some of those who were on the field and some of those who were off the field, they have not kept up with the times. They drift and crawl back in time and talk about a time when no one had heard of zone defense. It annoys me. Not you (in the press), but the others. They are the ones who should be able to do a little better, says Solbakken.
Kjetil Rekdal does not fully understand Ståle Solbakken’s plan.
Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB
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Kjetil Rekdal, who is one of the 90s heroes who often comment on the national team, thinks the Solbakken scheme is difficult to answer.
– That football has changed, there is no doubt. Today’s football is of course completely different, both with intensity and pace compared to the nineties. There is no doubt that football is in an enormous constant change. I agree with Ståle that football has developed. At least I have not said that we will play like in the nineties, Rekdal says to NRK late Sunday night.
– But I do not know who or what he is aiming for, he adds.
Norway’s next important international match will not be played until there are matches in the National League in June 2022, a break Solbakken calls “terrible”, but he has strong faith in the team he is now in charge of.
– We did not qualify, we have to deal with that, and that’s what it’s about. But for me, it is just as much about Norway taking another step. Many of the players are so young and forward-thinking that they will take new steps, then it is important that they get that help, comfort and constructive messages from me. Right now, there are probably some who do not care about it, while others may need it, Solbakken says to NRK.
EM-guaranteed
Birger Meling supports the national team manager in that Norway is on the right track. The back goes a long way in promising that the next qualifier will be better.
– We are a solid team that avoids few chances and work extremely well together. There is a huge “go” in the group and believe in what we are doing. I am completely – completely – sure that this team will go to the European Championships in 2024, Meling says at the press conference.
Meling is disappointed that the Netherlands match was as it was.
– We would have liked to have sewn together more when we had the ball. We get a little too furious, hot at the top and impatient when we have the ball. The match opens towards the end when we changed (to three players in defense), Meling said after the loss.
– It’s a feeling of emptiness. You are sorry. We are human beings too. Getting this in the woodwork after the autumn we have had is lead-heavy.
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal felt that Norway was not a threat in the World Cup qualifier in Rotterdam.
– Norway had only half a chance. My players followed the plan, said van Gaal after the 2-0 victory.
– (Erling Braut) Haaland was the only player who could create chances for Norway in the match in Oslo. Therefore, it was an advantage for us that he was not in this match, the 70-year-old added.
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