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This was stated by the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) in a press release on Friday evening.
Earlier this week, the private international match between Norway and Israel was canceled after an Israeli player tested positive for the coronavirus. Earlier Friday, it emerged that Omar Elabdellaoui also tested positive for the virus, so the big question became:
Could Norway go to Romania and Austria for the deciding Nations League matches that are played on Sunday and Wednesday respectively?
After a long day of postponed press conferences, hectic meetings, and speculation, the answer is: yes, there will be a fight.
But not without consequences.
More must stay home
– This is a demanding situation with many dilemmas. We do not want to contest the exception we have received for inbound quarantine. Therefore, we intend to leave players who play for Norwegian clubs in the infection quarantine in Norway. We do this to prevent the spread of infection in Norwegian society. While we assess the situation, Norwegian players living abroad may leave the country because they will not return to Norway, soccer president Terje Svendsen says in the press release.
What this means in practice is that players playing in the Elite Series do not join Romania and Austria, while Norwegian players playing abroad join.
– It’s a very sensible decision. It is important for all of Norwegian football that the Eliteserien finish playing, writes Odd CEO Einar Håndlykken in an SMS to VG.
Patrick Berg (Bodø / Glimt), Marius Lode (Bodø / Glimt), Sondre Rossbach (Odd), André Hansen (Rosenborg) and Markus Henriksen (Rosenborg) are thus left out of the national team. The same applies to infected Omar Elabdellaoui.
Thus, Marius Lode does not get the debut in the national team that he expected:
Norway’s national team consisted of 24 men before Elabdellaoui was infected. Now there are 18 men who make up the squad of the national team for the next two games.
Two of the players who are off the squad, André Hansen and Sondre Rossbach, are goalkeepers. This means that Norway, as of now, only have one goalkeeper with them for the two away games.
Various maturities
VG national team commentator Knut Espen Svegaarden acknowledges that Norway will bring in a substitute goalkeeper for upcoming matches. They have to, he thinks.
– You cannot go to a game without a substitute goalkeeper, so you are guaranteed to bring a goalkeeper.
Svegaarden emphasizes that most of Lars Lagerbäck’s core team is still involved, minus a couple of players. But if he makes the decision on Friday, as well as all the deadlines for the match, it is clear that Lagerbäck has far fewer options.
In addition to missing elite league players and Elabdellaoui, Mathias Normann, Jonas Svensson, Birger Meling and Stian Gregersen have reported delays due to injuries. Also, it’s unclear if Kristoffer Ajer will be ready to play.
– They have had a lot of injury problems so far, so it really was an advantage that the planned match against Israel was never played. And he loses nothing of what he has had. It hasn’t depended on Patrick Berg or Marius Lode, Svegaarden says, adding:
– With the position they have had, it is easy to make excuses later. But now they have made a decision, and then you have to defend it, no matter how it goes.
– It means a lot to us
Norwegian national team players have been tested for the coronavirus four times since they arrived. As recently as Friday they were tested and all tested negative (except for the aforementioned Elabdellaoui).
“The Norwegian national team is confident that we handle the situation with travel, where we travel as a group in our own bus, with our own charter plane and live in isolation at the hotel in Romania. NFF has been in dialogue with the Romanian Football Association, which welcomes the Norwegian team. They are confident that UEFA’s protocol provides a good framework for the match, ”the press release stated.
– If we don’t line up teams, it means we lose two games. That means a missed opportunity to qualify for the World Cup. Of course, we are concerned about the increasing contagion situation in society. That is why we do everything possible in our daily lives not to expose others to risks. As footballers, we have lived in quarantine for six months. We do what we can to keep football going. These games mean a lot to us, say Stefan Johansen and Martin Ødegaard on the captains team.
VG has tried to contact the assistant coach of the national team, Per Joar Hansen, without success.
VG will be back with more.
