Norway has been one of the talking points of the World Cup so far. The Nordic nation surprised the competition by reaching the quarter-finals in their long-awaited return to the world’s biggest stage.
Norway last played in the World Cup in 1998, but this is the first time Erling Haaland’s team have made it this far in the tournament. I’m dreaming of a fairy-tale run in the final. To do that, they need to get past England, who are riding the crest of a wave with a gutsy win against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham hit the target as the Three Lions battled hard to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the third consecutive year in Mexico City. A win over Norway would have given them a place in the semi-finals for the second time in eight years and could have given Thomas Tuchel’s side momentum heading into the match.
That’s because a report from Dagbladet claims that the Norwegian camp may not be as united as it seems, with one player potentially remaining deeply dissatisfied with his role this summer. The player in question is Alexander Soros, who has been asked to play in a slightly more out-of-position position to accommodate Haaland, who is the main player.
Soros is yet to score in this year’s World Cup, scoring at half-time in the previous round against Brazil. So his father, who also played for Norway, said, “Alexander is a winner. He loves playing the game of soccer and building a winning culture. But he did a great job of keeping the ball within the team. He did a great job.”
“At the top we have a world-class player in Erling, who is a centre-forward. Alexander also has the build of a centre-forward, but now he has a right-wing role. It’s frustrating when he’s left out, because he should be there every day of the year, whether it’s the World Cup, the European Championship or regular international matches.”
Soros also voiced these frustrations after the Brazil tournament, saying, “I spoke to Starle afterwards. We are good friends now. But when the match happened, I didn’t really understand.”
Meanwhile, coach Staare Solbakken defended his decision: “None of them had a bad game. Quite the contrary. They did a great job defensively. They were also involved offensively. But after watching the game, we decided we should use other types.”
