Norwegian doctor had to speak out about player ‘sickness’ rumors before the England match
Norway’s team doctor has shared an update after their manager, Stale Solbakken, raised some worries about players feeling unwell before their quarter-final match against England in Miami.
Norway beat Brazil 2-1 in the last 16 round in New Jersey, thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland in the second half. The team was mostly healthy for that game, except Torino defender Marcus Pedersen, who had to miss out because he was sick.
After the match, Solbakken said Pedersen felt his body wasn’t quite right on game day morning, even though he had trained fully before. He also mentioned that striker Jorgen Strand Larsen had a fever but is now better. The coach added that some players had “a bit of coughing and rasping” here and there.
Solbakken explained this might be due to things like air conditioning, flights, and being in close quarters with a big group (over 50 people). He said it wouldn’t be surprising if a few felt a little tired or under the weather after so much traveling during the World Cup. For example, Norway traveled about 1,100 miles from Dallas to Greensboro after beating Ivory Coast, and then another 500 miles to New Jersey before playing Brazil.
Because of these concerns about the team’s health, Norway’s doctor Ola Sand quickly said everything is fine now. He told Norwegian media Nettavisen, “All players are healthy now. There’s very little fuss, which is great because we’ve been close together for almost six weeks. We are fully in control.”
Looking ahead to the game in Miami, NBC 6 Miami says there might be some isolated thunderstorms on Saturday. The chance of rain has dropped from 30% to 20%.
It’s also expected to get quite hot, with temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius. That heat could make things tougher, as temperatures above 28 degrees can affect players’ energy and speed.
England’s earlier game against DR Congo was played in 34-degree weather in Atlanta, but the stadium had cooling systems that helped keep temperatures down. Their match against Mexico was also delayed by an hour because of thunderstorms in Mexico City. Following safety rules, games must pause for 30 minutes after a lightning strike and then another 30 minutes after the last one.
So, while there are a few challenges with the weather and travel, both teams are preparing to give their best in the quarter-final!