Met mensen als Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard en een groot aantal gevestigde spelers uit enkele van de grootste clubs van Europa waarover ze beschikken, is hoop in Noorwegen rijp in Noorwegen dat de mannen van Solbakken een enorme stap kunnen zetten om een 25-jarige wachttijd te beëindigen om zich te kwalificeren voor een groot toernooi, wanneer ze Italië organiseren in Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo op Oslo op Oslo op Oslo op Oslo op Oslo on Oslo on Oslo on Friday evening.
The last time Norway qualified for a final tournament, Britney Spears conquered the hit lists, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston explained the knot, Sony brought out the PlayStation 2 and Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia.
At the time, in Euro 2000, Tottenham's Steffen Iversen Norway gave a sensational 1-0 victory against Spain in their opening match for a draw against Slovenia and a narrow 1-0 defeat against Fr Yugoslavia saw them from the tournament crashen.
It was during those days that coach Nils Johan Semb tried to introduce a slightly more spectators -friendly kind of football after his predecessor, the “Mad Professor” Egil Olsen, who was best known for wearing Wellington rubber boots in all kinds of Brazil's display) by Brazil) by Brazil) by Brazil) Direct Footall.
It is 27 years old since the famous victory of Norways against Brazil in the Wereldboris Horvat / AFP / AFP / Profimedia
Decades in the wilderness
Olsen was a tactical non-conformist and an early adoption of data and analyzes, in particular in terms of physical output, but he soon changed into a “dinosaur” when the rest of the football world caught up with the dependence on data.
At the same time, the pipeline of players stopped producing when Rosenborg, the powerhouse of Scandinavian football, slowly faded, so Norway left a very narrow team in terms of quality on the field.
Since then, Norway has not been able to fulfill their desperate search to end an apparently never -ending period in the wilderness. You cannot expect a country with a population of 5.5 million people to be highlights, but the fact is that much smaller European countries have succeeded in qualifying for the World Cup or the European Championship since the year 2000.
Countries such as Iceland (376,000), Noord -Ireland (1.8 million), Wales (3.1 million), Republic of Ireland (5 million), Albania (2.8 million), North Macedonia (2 million), Slovakia (5.4 million) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.2 million), all nations). And the consistent failure of Norway to be eligible for major tournaments may be particularly embarrassing if you look at bitter rivals, Denmark, who played in no less than eight international tournaments since Norway was shown in the Euro 2000.
Quality in numbers
But now there is a new football optimism that could re -compete with the large countries of football in a country that is otherwise proud of winter sports.
After the initial 4-2 and 5-0 way away against Israel and Moldova who have lifted Norway to the top of Group I, the expectations at a record high in the Norwegian capital, while old Solbakken and his men are a warm welcome for the Italian favorites for the Italian favorites for winning the group in a sold-out Ullevaal stadium.
For the first time in decades, Norway has a team full of attacking talent such as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard Spearhead a golden generation of players. Take a look at the possible line -up for the Norwegians on Friday evening while they compete against Italy.
For defense, Solbakken probably chooses Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford), Leo Skiri Oigstigard (Hoffenheim), Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund) and David Moller Wolfe (AZ Alkmaar). In midfield, Odegaard will orchestrate the attack of Norway and he will have a lot of support from Sander Berge (Fulham), Patrick Berg (Bodo/Slimt) and Andreas Schjelderup (Benfica). And in attack, Haaland and Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid) will complete an impressive line -up that cannot match many national teams.
And if solbaks still need reinforcements, he will have the luxury of having profiles such as Oscar Bobb (Manchester City), Antonio Nusa (RB Leipzig) and Mortenby (Genoa) on the couch, among others.
Andreas Schjelderup is one of the future stars in the Norwegian Squadmiguel A. Lopes / EPA / Profimedia
Domestic talents give senior opportunities
One of the main reasons for the impressive team from which Sold Solbakken can choose his starting XI is the willingness to offer senior opportunities to stand up emerging domestic talents from a young age.
After Norway had sunk to a low low in 2017, when they lost from Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Norwegian Federation decided to spend more money on developing young players and youth coaches; Youth academies were established and a national youth series was established while the loan rules were changed to maximize the playing time for young players.
Nowadays the most important competition of the country, the eliteserien, has an average age of 25.1, the 18th lowest in Europe. Moreover, there is a determination within the competition to offer opportunities to domestic talents, as evidenced by the fact that only 28.9% (12th lowest) of the players in the EliteSerien are foreign players.
“Spring comes after a long winter”
Bodo/Glimt's great run to the semi -final of the Europa League this season, where they beat a number of top European parties, such as FC Porto, Olympiakos and Lazi, is a proof of the Norwegian focus on developing young talent and giving the opportunity to bloom.
The club has built up a reputation for feeding young players and integrating into the first team, and Solbakken is now picking the benefits, mainly due to the presence of defensive midfielder Patrick Berg.
The National Team of Norway is not expected to pick the full benefits of their emphasis on feeding young players until around 2028. But in recent years the number of Norwegian players in Europe's top five competitions has grown.
Norwegians are used to seeing their national side falling at the last obstacle, but with the World Cup that is expanding to a 48 team competition in 2026, the men of Solbakken now have a great opportunity to reject a national trauma and qualify for their first major tournament in a quarter of a century.
As president of the Norwegian Federation, Lise Klaveness said in the run -up to this campaign. “There is a feeling that it is our turn now. That spring is coming, after a long winter.”