Austria 1-1 Norway –

Coach Leif Gunnar Smerud (43) and his 18 “surprised men” had Austria in the fork for up to 90 minutes. Then the home team drew 1-1 at the Ernst Happel Stadium, and the group winner in the Nations League was in the area.

But Smerud’s Norway B impressed last night in Vienna. Among those who launch the tribute is the former coach Egil “Drillo” Olsen:

– It’s a bit bitter. In fact, we were pretty close to winning the group. I don’t think so, he says in an interview shown on TV 2.

– We were very close 2-0. We should have had a little margin, then we would have been there. It’s a bit unreal. I was on defense before the game and I was expecting us to lose 2-0 or 3-0, and we would make an honorable effort. But that did not happen.

With a 2-0 win, Norway would have won the group in the Nations League and moved up to level A. The team would also have an easier path to the World Cup final in 2022. It had been a different adventure story. world. But when the best guys had to be quarantined due to Omar Elabdellaoui’s positive corona test, the “emergency guys” still hit.

Ghaya’s Zahid put Norway ahead in the 61st minute. Adrian Grbic leveled for the hosts.

– I think this is good for Norwegian football, says Drillo about the match.

– These are players who are second and third choice in the Norwegian national team. He says that Norway has quite a few good soccer players in Europe.

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The match was also a triumph for under-21 coach Smerud, who has a huge star internally in the Norwegian Football Association. The day Norway goes to coach Lars Lagerbäck, he will definitely be on the block.

– I just want to give high praise to the 18-man team that put on this performance tonight, Smerud said at the press conference last night.

– They’ve made a completely crazy effort to get here. And what they delivered today is something they should be incredibly proud of.

In Austria, the atmosphere was not so good last night and last night. The bad thing was that the local team played a weak game.

– A goal in the last minute saved Austria from an embarrassing defeat, writes the leading newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

Still, he held out to win the group. And that’s probably where the focus will be on Austria in the coming days.

The match is completed with the League of Nations. The next big event is the draw for the qualifying groups for the World Cup on December 7.