Oslo. We used to call them little brother.
We are now desperately faced with a bigger, uglier and more skilled Norway – while we must try to shake off the ruins of a wounded national team that looks increasingly fragile and fragile in every game played, every passing day.
I won’t write that we went here and succumbed to the loss, but if nothing else, it was at least clear that Norway was a footballing nation set to win clearly.
Oslo breathed confidently on Sunday. Oslo smelled a more specific type of power shift.
People flocked to sold-out Olival several hours before the match, and in the warm-up period, cheers were heard for every Norwegian shot that found a net. More than 20 minutes left before kick-off when tens of thousands of red blues stretched their scarves and set the tone for “Alt for Norge,” the battle song from the 1994 World Cup.
King Harald himself was present – with a force of 85 – and preceded the national anthems “The King’s Song”. When this was carried out, the section of supporters on the short side revealed the same sign they brought with them to friends last time: “We can buyøAll of Sweden if we want.”
Then singing and chatting is not the same as playing, but almost immediately after the match, it was clear that this was a decision of the Norwegian national team to meet the expectations of the nation.
The comparison between big brother and little brother in Scandinavian football is already exaggerated, but in its reverse version it is actually relevant today.
Another caliber here for Ekdal
From the first minute, Norway looked like a more mature, experienced and ready team – an impression reinforced as they also lined up with a much bigger squad.
Alexander Isak was the only outdoor player in Sweden who was over 190 cm tall and had never been a physically fit player. Norway, on the other hand, decorated Sander Berg (195 cm), Erling Braut Haaland (194), Alexander S.ørloth (194), Morten Thorsby (189) and Stefan Strandberg (189).
Berg dominated the midfield, SøThe rloth moved forward on the new Gabriel Gudmundsson over and over again and Erling Braut Haaland was the predator who seemed to pick which prey he would shove his fangs into.
It only took ten minutes before the snare struck again, before Hjalmar tricks Egdal into an ambush and gets hit.
Ekdal has all the prerequisites to become an international-class midfielder, but the last thing he did before being promoted to a member of the national team was tackle Varberg’s Alexander Johansson on the Tele 2 plastic mat.
Different caliber here. Erling Haaland is stronger, faster and smarter than any other striker Ekdal has met, and it was all revealed when Besten crashed Bryne in front of her defender and nodded at the main goal.
When Norway pressed on, we couldn’t resist. It was that simple. Very easy and very difficult
If anything, our offensive play was marginally better than in previous Nations League matches – Dejan Kulusevski created a lot on his own, and we were able to combine a few positions in open play – but it wasn’t at the end of the field. That this match is over.
History will always be ours
We lost because we couldn’t keep the Norwegian attacking waves away from us, as we lined up eleven losing and fragile youngsters against a tough and sharp opponent team.
Once they got a little annoyed and threatened, it was as if the Norwegians had decided only to put their feet up and squeeze.
Minutes after Emil Forsberg scored a losing goal in the short corner – giving us an illusion of hope – Norway simply stepped into the second penalty area and punched the game.
Erling Haaland used our entire line of defense almost on his own. Poor Gabriel Gudmundsson – who had already faced a nightmarish match – initially failed to get a pass and at the next stage was hit again by superior Alexander S.ørloth.
game over.
Victor Geukers hit a knockout second, but no Swedish point was ever close, and the mental difference in this match was greater than an individual goal.
That’s how the Nations League summer is gone, and it won’t come again. Can we take anything with us at all?
I don’t know, I really don’t know. Despite the fact that Jens Cajuste performed very well, it was revealed quite a bit tonight. Admittedly, Victor Giocris was active in his roles, but the basis for evaluation is still very small.
Of course, it would have been helpful for players like Hjalmar Ekdal, Edvin Kurtulus, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Joel Andersson to get these experiences – but they still have so much to see and learn that I wonder if they’ll have time to become a tournament player. Two years.
What is the gameplay itself? The regime change we had been hoping for so much? In fact, this is probably where the disappointment is greatest, because although no one expected everything to be in place from the first minute, we obviously hoped it would anyway. Something It will work for four full games.
It didn’t – it stumbled and stumbled and stopped – and now we are standing instead with the headwind in our faces.
First we lost. Then we lost again. And now we’re lost again.
“Victory is ours,” Olival triumphed, and, of course, it was possible to understand the joy. Norway has not won a competitive home game against Sweden in 45 years, so they are allowed to appreciate their victories.
History will always be ours, but at the moment they have a higher ranked league than the Allsvenskan team and the men’s national team which is obviously better than the Sweden national team.
First, it allows us to accept it. Then we must make sure we change it up well before Euro 2024.
