Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
(Norway-Slovakia 1–1) How did this Norway team NOT make it to the EC, the experts asked en route to Slovakia. The answer came four minutes before the end.
Reporting from the Ullevaal stadium on Tuesday 26 March at 23:09
The short version
- Norway and Slovakia played 1–1 in an international match at the Ullevaal stadium
- Norway dominated the first half, but was unable to secure the victory
- Erling Braut Haaland’s penalty kick gave Slovakia a new boost, and Ondrej Duda equalized in the final minutes
- TV 2 expert Jesper Mathisen expressed disappointment at Norway’s performance
- Group opponents Georgia are ready for the European Championship after beating Greece on penalties
Sea view
Ståle Solbakken’s men played havoc with the EC-ready Slovaks in the first half, but were unable to kill the match.
A penalty miss from Erling Braut Haaland gave the away team a new lease of life and Slovakia had several great chances.
Four minutes before the end, what has happened so many times before in recent national team years happened. Mistakes in Norway’s back rows gave Slovakia a great chance, which Ondrej Duda put beautifully into the far corner.
Photo: Instagram / @erling.haaland
– One begins to wonder if there is a hidden camera. You wonder if you are watching the same match over and over again, says NRK expert and Viking player Kristoffer Løkberg to VG.
– Once again, Norway is capable of messing it up for itself. You hardly believe what you see, says TV 2 expert Jesper Mathisen.
VG stock exchange: Østigård close to bottom grade after mistakes
To light whistles from the home crowd, the Norwegian players had to realize that the victory had slipped away here as well.
– Sorry, everyone. It’s on me that we didn’t win today, Haaland writes on Instagram after the match – and is surely referring to the penalty shootout in the second half. With scoring there, Norway had led 2–0.
– He said sorry in the dressing room afterwards, added national team manager Ståle Solbakken at the press conference.
- Leo Skiri Østigård missed the ball which gave Slovakia the equaliser.
Leo Skiri Østigård missed the ball which gave Slovakia the equaliser. Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
Oscar Bobb was the healthiest of many good ones for Norway in the first 45.
“The course is a field, but when Bobb gets the ball it slides like on a green. Weird about that. What a player!” writes TV 2 expert Yaw Amankwah on X.
Norway played great football, but the score that sent the national team into the lead was of the rather contentious variety. Sander Berge got two tries after a corner. In the end, Sørloth picked up the rebound and scored his 18th national team goal.
Norway went into the break with 15 ends. They have not had several rest since the meetings with Gibraltar in 2021.
– I wonder how Slovakia got into the EC and Norway didn’t, said Jesper Mathisen after seeing Norway’s ravages in the first half.
It was a welcome sight for cold home fans at Ullevaal. After the break, Norway continued to dominate and were awarded a penalty five minutes into the half.
With superstar Erling Braut Haaland on the mark, few were worried about a miss, but goalkeeper Marek Rodak reached down at the post and beat Haaland’s penalty into the corner.
- Rodak saves Haaland’s penalty! The striker puts the ball along the grass down towards the right corner, but Slovakia’s goalkeeper delivers a superb save.
Rodak saves Haaland’s penalty! The striker puts the ball along the grass down towards the right corner, but Slovakia’s goalkeeper delivers a superb save. Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Jærbuen’s fifth penalty miss in his senior career. His first for Norway.
From then on, it was a more nervous Norway that saw Slovakia play more and more into the game. Finally came the equalizer.
Leo Skiri Østigård wanted a free kick after being tackled outside the penalty area, but didn’t get it. Later, Kristoffer Ajer also marked himself negatively when he was easily feinted away by goalscorer Duda in the box.
– It is painful to watch. It is far too simple. Østigård can complain about it. We can complain about the pitch and that he is pushed, but these are the situations we have to get out of, says TV 2’s expert Solveig Gulbrandsen.
– Østigård must have control a hundred times out of a hundred, says Jesper Mathisen.
Three minutes into overtime, the Slovaks were also very close to securing victory.
PS. Norway’s group opponent Georgia is ready for the EC after a playoff victory on penalties against Greece.