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Rune Bratseth believes that critics need to calm down after celebrating Norway’s goal against Romania in the Nations League.
NORWAY – ROMANIA 4-0
ULLEVAAL STADION (Nettavisen): The Norwegian national team fought back with an impressive 4-0 win against Romania after the tough loss against Serbia earlier this week.
The loss to Serbia generated much criticism against the Norwegian team and Lars Lagerbäck’s future as head of the national team has been the subject of heated debate in the Norwegian media, especially after Ståle Solbakken became available on the market.
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But former national team hero Bratseth believes it is completely wrong to think that Lagerbäck should be replaced.
– Yes, actually I think so. If there had been weak performance over time, that we hadn’t seen any development, and nothing else happened here, then of course you can have such discussions, but that was not the case here. It was a match. Yes, it was the decisive and important match, but Norway plays Serbia, which is basically a completely different football nation than Norway. Then you can’t expect us to wreak havoc with them, Bratseth tells Nettavisen.
– It was weird last time. Lagerbäck has done a great job with Norway over time and we feel miserable in a match. You have to be able to be without everything having to turn upside down, says Bratseth a little resigned.
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EXPERT: Rune Bratseth still follows the national team closely.
Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg (NTB)
– A step in the right direction
He believes that the young Norwegian team must have time.
– We still have many promising players on that team, but they are not fully developed. It’s not international first-class at all, but there is potential there. They take time and need to develop, perhaps even more as a unit and a team, explains Bratseth.
The former midfielder was delighted to see Norway in good shape at Ullevaal on Sunday night against Romania and believes they are on the right track.
– It is a step in the right direction. We work much better as a team, there is much better rhythm in most things. Of course we find a worse opponent, but we must also beat him. Winning Romania 4-0 is a good result anyway and it could have been more than that. Definitely a positive combination and something to build on, says Bratseth.
GOOD MORNING: On Sunday Kjetil Rekdal led HamKam to a home win against Sandnes Ulf, then could see Norway crush Romania.
Photo: Geir Olsen (NTB)
Rekdal: – There is always howling and screaming.
He has the support of his former colleague from the national team Kjetil Rekdal.
On Sunday, Rekdal was busy winning 2-0 against Sandnes Ulf with his team HamKam in the OBOS league, but he got the second round of the national match.
He rejoiced at what he saw.
– It is brilliant. That is the correct way to answer. Winning 4-0 is a superclass in international football. We must not forget that. This is the answer that gives hope. We got up well and it is impressive. It’s magic. 4-0 is class, Rekdal tells Nettavisen.
– This gives hope that the next time we are in the position where we will play for something crucial, we can crack the code. If you had collapsed now and played a really bad match, we would still be some distance away, but coming back in three days and performing like we did today is impressive, says Rekdal.
The hero of the 1998 World Cup agrees with Bratseth that it will be too easy to demand Lagerbäck’s departure after the game against Serbia.
– It will be very short term. Lagerbäck has improved the Norway team since it started, but there are howls and screams all the time from many who have not played at the top, nor been leaders at the top level, nor have they been coaches at the top level, says Rekdal.
– Lagerbäck has done a good job with Norway. It will retire at some point. Then that discussion will come, but I think now it was very cheap. There are always discussions about team picks when you lose, but Rekdal wonders why they didn’t go ahead.
Strandberg believes Lagerbäck has the support of the players
Because undoubtedly there were discussions around the Swede after the previous match.
Midfielder Stefan Strandberg, however, denies that the players are affected by the public discussion about Lagerbäck’s future.
– It’s your job to do that and it doesn’t affect us. We are super happy with the team that is here, and I think today it shines with its performance. If there had been any dissatisfaction, I don’t think there would have been a performance like today, he says at Sunday’s press conference.
CLEAR SPEECH: Stefan Strandberg is clear that Lars Lagerbäck has the support of the players.
Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum (NTB)
Ural’s profile is very clear that the group of players is completely behind Lagerbäck and assistant Per Joar Hansen.
– We have extremely great faith in what we do and have shown it before. Even if you miss a match, you can’t redo the project we’ve started. I think what Lars and Perry are doing is the way forward to lead Norway to a championship. He (Lagerbäck, editor’s note) has previously shown that he knows what it takes, so it is up to us in the field to deliver.
Lagerbäck himself was very pleased with the team’s performance against a weak Romanian team.
– In general, we make a very good combination. We were a bit aggressive in the beginning, otherwise I think it’s very solid and it was a good attacking game. So it’s my job to make sure we keep our feet on the ground and not think we’re in heaven. With all due respect to Romania, he was a slightly different opponent today.
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