Norway’s coach shares the main reason for not resting Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard before the France game.
Norway lost 4-1 to France in their last group game of the World Cup, but they had already secured a spot in the next round before the game even started.
Coach Ståle Solbakken made 10 changes to the team that won 3-2 against Senegal, resting key players like Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and Ørjan Nyland on the bench for this match against France.
Because of the loss, Norway will finish second in the group. This means they will likely face Ivory Coast in the next round, avoiding their Scandinavian rivals, Sweden.
After the tough loss, Solbakken explained why he rested so many players. He said the team needed to recharge since they had the shortest break so far in the tournament and their next game was just four days away. The only downside was that fans missed seeing stars like Haaland and Ødegaard, but the main goal is to go as far as possible in the World Cup.
France’s Ousmane Dembele scored a first-half hat-trick against Norway, while Thelo Aasgaard scored Norway’s only goal, making it 2-1 when he found the net.
Norway almost made France nervous in the second half, with Jørgen Strand Larsen missing a penalty, before Désiré Doué scored a smart header in added time to make it 4-1.
Solbakken seemed happy with the team’s effort but pointed out some things to improve before their next match. He praised the team for creating chances throughout the game, especially in the first half, but reminded them that they need to be more careful when losing the ball because things can turn quickly against them.