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Norway impressed Norway overall against Austria. Now the scorer opens in critical hours before the Nations League deal.
Ghayas Zahid sent Norway into a sensational lead against Austria in Wednesday’s Nations League game. The former Vålerenga player was only seconds away from becoming Norway’s new hero, but well into overtime, Adrian Grbic leveled 1-1 and made sure it ended in a draw in Vienna.
Zahid, who plays daily for Cypriot Apoel Nicosia, was urgently called in, like the rest of the Norwegian team, when the NFF began contacting new players for the team on Sunday.
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In just a few hours, they all had to report to Oslo for crown tests and isolation at a Gardermoen hotel, before flying to Vienna on Tuesday afternoon, the day before the match.
The 26-year-old from Mortensrud can now talk about an arduous journey to represent Norway.
– Yes, it was a long and heavy trip. I had to leave Cyprus via Greece and then to Copenhagen, before boarding the last plane to Oslo. It took about 13 hours of travel to get to Norway alone, Zahid tells Nettavisen the day after the match.
I was afraid of losing the fight
Zahid says that he has struggled with low back pain for a long time and that the match charge certainly did not improve matters.
In fact, he feared that he might not get his long-awaited start with the flag on his chest.
– I already felt the pain in my lower back the day before the game, so I got very stiff in my back. I felt it in the only practice we had in the sand, but I relaxed a bit afterwards.
– It was good to go down to Vienna, but it is not common with the pain I have. It’s because of the trip. First the long one to Norway and then a new flight to Austria, explains Zahid.
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The support staff worked hard to prepare the little coach for Wednesday’s game. At 8:45 PM, Zahid also made his way to the Ernst Happel Stadium along with the other ten Leif Gunnar Smerud had chosen.
– The pain was getting worse throughout the game. It felt good on my back, he says and confirms that he feels it could have been even better if he hadn’t felt pain along the way.
Still, he was central with his dangerous dead ball foot. Finally, Zahid also scored when he put Norway ahead after a great pass from Veton Berisha in the 61st minute.
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– There have been many reactions.
Along with the rest of the new Norwegian team, which arrived after health authorities halted the original team’s trip to Romania and Austria, Zahid and Norway made a big impression on Wednesday’s game.
At most 900,000 viewers watched the so-called “emergency national team” against Austria on TV 2 and TV 2 Sumo on Wednesday night.
On average, 693,000 watched the entire match, making it the most watched Nations League match on TV 2 channels.
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Zahid himself has received many reactions after his first international match from the beginning. He previously had a three-minute long jump against Panama in 2018 on his CV.
– There has been a lot everywhere. Very positive. Some of the guys from the original national team have sent messages and things like that. I know a lot of them, but there are some really nice reactions, he explains.
The match itself ended up being an impressive performance in which all Norwegian players performed at a very high level, against an opponent who had significantly better conditions for success.
– We went out to fight a real fight and took the war we had to take. Then we knew that space was going to open further. The boys did not stop running. It was a good feeling.
– Do you think you are closer to a squad when everyone is available again?
– I hope you have contributed positively, but everyone else also. We came to do a job and we are always ready to make an effort in the selection, concludes Zahid on his way to the plane that will take him back to Cyprus.
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