Norway coach defends decision to leave out Haaland, Odegaard against France

FOXBOROUGH: Norway coach Stale Solbakken defended his decision to leave out star duo Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in Friday’s 4-1 World Cup defeat against France, saying it was a “no-brainer”.

“It was a no-brainer, for me, for the physio and for the medical staff, and for some of the players themselves,” said Solbakken after he made 10 changes to his starting line-up following the 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday.

“They all said it would be difficult for many of them, and then the only consideration is of course the fans in Norway and here.

“They would have wanted to see Erling and Martin but we want to go as far as we can so it was a no-brainer. It didn’t take us long to come to that decision.”

Solbakken said the relatively quick turnaround from Monday’s win over Senegal was the key factor. He said Haaland and Odegaard were “team players, so they know what is best for the team.”

Manchester City striker Haaland scored four goals in Norway’s first two matches, a brace in the 4-1 win over Iraq in their opening Group I game and two more in the victory against Senegal which secured their place in the next round.

Without either him or Arsenal midfielder Odegaard, their captain, as well as the likes of Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth, Norway were torn apart by the French.

Ousmane Dembele scored a hat-trick for Les Bleus and Desire Doue got their fourth goal late on. Thelo Aasgaard scored Norway’s goal, while Jorgen Strand Larsen had a penalty saved just after half-time — that would have brought the game back to 3-2 had it gone in.

“Obviously our fans want to see Erling, they want to see Martin, but hopefully because of this we can give them some good summer nights in the next weeks,” added the Norway coach, whose side must now travel to Dallas to play Ivory Coast in the last 32 next Tuesday.

“They are a very good team, physically one of the best in the tournament. Like our game against Senegal, this is a very 50/50 game so we need to be at our best,” he said of the Ivorians.