Norway national football team explained

Norway
Nickname:Drillos
Løvene (The Lions)
Badge:Norway national football team logo.svg
Badge Size:142px
Confederation:UEFA (Europe)
Website:fotball.no
Coach:Ståle Solbakken
Captain:Martin Ødegaard
Top Scorer:Jørgen Juve (33)
Home Stadium:Ullevaal Stadion
Fifa Trigramme:NOR
Fifa Max:2
Fifa Max Date:October 1993,
Fifa Min:88
Fifa Min Date:July 2017
Elo Max:6
Elo Max Date:June 2000
Elo Min:91
Elo Min Date:May–June 1976
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Leftarm1:BA0003
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Socks1:202747
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First Game: 11–3
(Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Largest Win: 12–0
(Bergen, Norway; 28 June 1946)[1]
Largest Loss: 12–0
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 7 October 1917)
World Cup Apps:3
World Cup First:1938
World Cup Best:Round of 16 (1938, 1998)
Regional Name:UEFA European Championship
Regional Cup Apps:1
Regional Cup First:2000
Regional Cup Best:Group stage (2000)

The Norway national football team (Norwegian: Norges herrelandslag i fotball, or informally Landslaget) represents Norway in men's international football, and is controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Ståle Solbakken. Norway has participated three times in the FIFA World Cup (1938, 1994, 1998), and once in the UEFA European Championship (2000).

Norway is one of only four national teams with a winning record against Brazil, and the only team together with Senegal to never have lost against them, with two wins and two draws in three friendly matches (in 1988, 1997 and 2006) and a 1998 World Cup group stage match.[2]

After Euro 2000, the national team have been eliminated in 12 consecutive qualifications to a major international tournament (UEFA Euro and FIFA World Cup) as of December 2023.[3] [4] [5]

History

See main article: History of the Norway national football team. Norway's performances in international football have usually been weaker than those of their Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark, but they did have a golden age in the late 1930s. An Olympic team achieved third place in the 1936 Olympics, after beating the host Germany earlier in the tournament. Norway also qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2–1 after extra time against eventual champions Italy. This was Norway's last World Cup appearance in 56 years.

In the post-war years, up to and including the 1980s, Norway was usually considered one of the weaker teams in Europe. They never qualified for a World Cup or European Championship in this period, and usually finished near the bottom of their qualifying groups. Nevertheless, Norway had a reputation for producing the occasional shock result, such as the 3–0 win against Yugoslavia in 1965, the 1–0 away win against France in 1968, and the 2–1 victory against England in 1981 that prompted radio commentator Bjørge Lillelien's famous "Your boys took a hell of a beating" rant.[6]

Norway had their most successful period from 1990 to 1998 under the legendary coach Egil "Drillo" Olsen. At its height in the mid-90s the team was ranked No. 2. Olsen started his training career with Norway with a 6–1 home victory against Cameroon on 31 October 1990 and ended it on 27 June 1998 after a 0–1 defeat against Italy in the second stage of the 1998 World Cup.

In qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, Norway topped their group, finishing above both the European Championship winning and three-time World Cup finalists the Netherlands, and also above former World Cup winners England, beating both teams in the process.

In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Norway was knocked out at the group stage after a win against Mexico, a defeat against Italy and a draw against the Republic of Ireland. Norway failed to qualify for second round qualification on goals scored as all 4 teams in the group finished with 4 points and identical goal difference. In the 1998 World Cup in France, Norway was once again eliminated by Italy in the first round of the knockout stage after finishing second in their group, having drawn against Morocco and Scotland and won 2–1 against Brazil.

Former under-21 coach Nils Johan Semb replaced Olsen after the planned retirement of the latter. Under Semb's guidance, Norway qualified for Euro 2000, which remains their last major tournament appearance to date. Semb resigned at the end of an unsuccessful qualifying campaign in 2003 and was replaced by Åge Hareide. Under Hareide, Norway came close to reaching both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008, but ultimately fell short on both occasions. Then, in 2008, it all fell apart as Norway failed to win a single game the entire calendar year. Hareide resigned at the end of 2008. His replacement, initially on a temporary basis, was the returning Egil Olsen, who began his second spell in charge with an away win against Germany, and subsequently signed a three-year contract. Olsen resigned in September 2013[7] after Norway lost at home to Switzerland and had limited chances to qualify for the 2014 World Cup with one game to spare. He was replaced with Per-Mathias Høgmo. Olsen later claimed he was sacked.[8]

Team image

Crest

Norway used the national flag on a white circle as their badge from the 1920s onwards. In May 2008 the NFF unveiled a new crest, a Viking-style Dragon wrapped around the NFF logo. After massive public pressure the crest was dropped.[9] Between the 1980s and the 1990s, Norway used the NFF logo in the opposite breast of the shirt together with the national flag on a white circle. On 12 December 2014, a new crest was presented. The crest primarily features the national flag, in addition, there are two lions taken from the Coat of arms of Norway on the top. The lions are facing each other while holding a blue miniature of the NFF logo, and between the lions and above the NFF logo, it says "NORGE" (Norway) in blue letters.[10]

Kit suppliers

Between 1996 and 2014, Norway's kits were supplied by Umbro. They took over from Adidas who supplied Norway's kit between 1992 and 1996.

On 10 September 2014, the NFF and Nike announced a new partnership that made the sportswear provider the official Norwegian team kit supplier from 1 January 2015.[11]

Kit providerPeriod
Le Coq Sportif1976–1980
Hummel1981–1991
Adidas1992–1996
Umbro1996–2014
Nike2015–present

Results and fixtures

See main article: Norway national football team results (2020–present). The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

Coaching staff

PositionName
Head coach Ståle Solbakken
Assistant coach(es) Kent Bergersen
Athletic coach Björn Vidar Stenersen
Match analysts Andy Findlay
Pål Fjelde
Sports coordinator Brede Hangeland
Physiotherapist Mario Pafundi
Sports scientist Johannes Marthinussen
Chief instructor Bryant Lazaro
Team manager Bard Wiggen

Coaching history

The following is a list of all managers of the national team. Prior to 1953, the team was selected by a selection committee, which also continued to select the team until 1969.

ManagerTenureFinals
 – 31 December 1955 align=right 26 align=right 7 align=right 7 align=right 12 align=right 28 align=right 42
 – 31 December 1957 align=right 17 align=right 5 align=right 4 align=right 8 align=right 25 align=right 38
 – 15 September 1958 align=right 5 align=right 3 align=right 1 align=right 1 align=right 10 align=right 8
 – 31 December 1958 align=right 1 align=right 0 align=right 0 align=right 1 align=right 1 align=right 4
 – 31 December 1959 align=right 10 align=right 3 align=right 0 align=right 7 align=right 15 align=right 29
 – 15 August 1962 align=right 20 align=right 6 align=right 2 align=right 12 align=right 32 align=right 45
 – 31 December 1966 align=right 33 align=right 11 align=right 7 align=right 15 align=right 47 align=right 74
 – 31 December 1969 align=right 25 align=right 9 align=right 3 align=right 13 align=right 39 align=right 61
 – 31 December 1971 align=right 17 align=right 4 align=right 2 align=right 11 align=right 18 align=right 43
 – August 1974 align=right 17 align=right 3 align=right 2 align=right 12 align=right 17 align=right 30
 – 31 December 1977 align=right 27 align=right 6 align=right 4 align=right 17 align=right 26 align=right 52
 – 30 June 1987 align=right 94 align=right 28 align=right 28 align=right 38 align=right 96 align=right 119
 – 30 June 1988 align=right 7 align=right 0 align=right 4 align=right 3 align=right 3 align=right 7
 – 10 October 1990 align=right 24 align=right 5 align=right 8 align=right 11 align=right 32 align=right 37
 – 30 June 1998 align=right 88 align=right 46 align=right 26 align=right 16 align=right 168 align=right 63 1994 World Cup – Group stage
1998 World Cup – Round of 16
 – 31 December 2003 align=right 68 align=right 29 align=right 21 align=right 18 align=right 89 align=right 61 Euro 2000 – Group stage
 – 8 December 2008 align=right 58 align=right 24 align=right 18 align=right 16 align=right 88 align=right 65
 – 27 September 2013 align=right 49 align=right 25 align=right 8 align=right 16 align=right 61 align=right 50
 – 16 November 2016 align=right 35 align=right 10 align=right 7 align=right 18 align=right 33 align=right 49
 – 6 December 2020 align=right 34 align=right 18 align=right 8 align=right 8 align=right 60 align=right 34
[12] align=right 1 align=right 0 align=right 1 align=right 0 align=right 1 align=right 1
 – align=right 36 align=right 18 align=right 8 align=right 10 align=right 66 align=right 37

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for the Norway squad within the last twelve months.INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
QUA Placed in mandatory quarantine
WD Withdrew due to non-injury issue.
EX Player expelled from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records

See main article: List of Norway international footballers. [15]

Players in bold are still active with Norway.

Most appearances

RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer
1John Arne Riise110162000–2013
2Thorbjørn Svenssen10401947–1962
3Henning Berg10091992–2004
4Erik Thorstvedt9701982–1996
5John Carew91241998–2011
Brede Hangeland9142002–2014
7Øyvind Leonhardsen86191990–2003
8Morten Gamst Pedersen83172004–2014
Kjetil Rekdal83171987–2000
10Steffen Iversen79211998–2011

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsCapsAverageCareer
1Jørgen Juve33451928–1937
2Erling Haaland31332019–present
3Einar Gundersen26331917–1928
4Harald Hennum25431949–1960
5John Carew24911998–2011
6Ole Gunnar Solskjær23671995–2007
Tore André Flo23761995–2004
8Gunnar Thoresen22641946–1959
9Steffen Iversen21791998–2011
10Joshua King20622012–2022
Jan Åge Fjørtoft20711986–1996

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

See main article: Norway at the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup recordwidth=1% rowspan=28Qualification record
YearResultPositionSquad
1930Did not enterDeclined invitation
1934Did not enter
1938Round of 1612th100112Squad211065
1950Did not enterDid not enter
1954Did not qualify402249
19584103315
19624004311
19666312105
19704103413
19746204916
1978420234
19828224815
19868134410
19908224109
1994Group stage17th311111Squad10721255
1998Round of 1615th412155Squad8620212
2002Did not qualify102441214
200612534129
2010824297
2014103341013
2018104151716
202210532158
2026To be determinedTo be determined
2030
2034
Total823378136493354185186

UEFA European Championship

See main article: Norway at the UEFA European Championship.

UEFA European Championship recordwidth=1% rowspan=22Qualifying record
YearResultPositionSquad
1960Did not qualify200226
1964201113
19686114914
19726015518
19766105515
19808017520
1984612378
19888125512
1992833295
199610622177
2000Group stage9th311111Squad10811219
2004Did not qualify104241010
2008127232711
20128512107
2016126151413
2020114522013
202483231412
2028To be determinedTo be determined
2032
TotalGroup stage1/17311111133502756181183

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
SeasonDivisionGroupwidth=28width=28width=28width=28width=28width=28width=35width=28
2018–19C364117226th
2020–21B1631212722nd
2022–23B463127724th
2024–25B3To be determined
Total181035261622nd

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
YearResultSquad
1908Did not enter
1912Quarter-finals100107Squad
1920210135Squad
1924Did not enter
1928
1936Bronze medal 4301104Squad
1948Did not enter
1952Round of 16100114Squad
1956Did not enter
1960Did not qualify
1964Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980Qualified, but later withdrew
1984Group stage311132Squad
1988Did not qualify
Since 1992Olympic football has been an under-23 tournament
TotalBronze medal115151722

All-time team record

The following table shows Norway's all-time international record, correct as of 8 June 2024.[16]

Norway's all-time international record, 1908–2022
OpponentsPlayedWonDrawn*LostGFGAGD% Won
5 2 2 1 6 5 +1 50%
2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 100%
3 2 1 0 13 1 +12 50%
3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 50%
12 2 2 8 10 24 −14 17%
6 4 1 1 9 1 +8 57%
1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100%
7 3 2 2 9 5 +4 43%
9 0 3 6 8 17 −9 0%
2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 100%
4 2 0 2 5 3 +2 50%
4 2 2 0 8 5 +3 50%
18 5 5 8 16 31 −15 28%
1 1 0 0 6 1 +5 100%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0%
1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0%
2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50%
5 1 1 3 6 10 −4 20%
13 13 0 0 35 5 +30 100%
5 0 1 4 5 13 −8 0%
9 1 3 5 9 12 −3 11.11%
91 21 15 55 108 232 −123 23.07%
9 1 2 6 8 15 −7 11%
6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 50%
16 2 4 8 14 33 −18 27%
7 4 2 1 16 5 +11 57%
5 5 0 0 17 0 +17 100%
67 41 17 9 182 82 +100 61.19%
16 4 4 8 16 24 −8 25%
5 4 1 0 9 3 +6 80%
15 2 4 9 11 34 −23 13%
1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100%
2 2 0 0 8 1 +7 100%
9 2 2 5 10 13 −3 28%
1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100%
1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 100%
1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 100%
21 7 6 8 26 36 −9 33%
34 20 6 8 64 35 +29 59%
2 1 0 1 2 2 0 50%
17 3 4 10 13 22 −8 18%
2 1 1 0 7 1 +6 50%
1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100%
3 2 1 0 12 0 +12 50%
1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100%
3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 0%
4 2 1 1 5 4 −1 50%
2 2 0 0 2 0 +2 100%
12 9 1 2 25 9 +15 73%
12 10 2 0 30 4 +26 83%
6 2 1 3 8 11 −3 33%
5 4 1 0 6 1 +5 80%
4 3 0 1 6 4 +2 66%
1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0%
21 5 6 10 27 46 −19 25%
1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100%
1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0%
1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100%
4 2 1 1 4 3 +1 50%
11 9 0 2 25 10 +15 82%
1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100%
1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100%
1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0%
21 4 3 14 26 60 −34 18%
11 1 2 8 5 18 −13 9%
2 2 0 0 8 1 +7 100%
21 5 9 7 23 31 −8 23.8%
14 3 7 4 14 14 0 21%
16 1 5 10 10 31 −21 16%
2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 0%
4 4 0 0 24 1 +23 100%
1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 100%
19 3 7 9 22 32 −10 15.78%
1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0%
4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 25%
1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100%
1 1 0 0 5 2 +3 100%
4 3 1 0 6 1 +5 75%
11 6 3 2 17 10 +7 67%
3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 67%
5 2 1 2 8 6 +2 40%
10 1 2 7 4 16 −12 10%
1112626 59 153 280 −127 22%
21 8 6 7 26 21 +5 38%
2 2 0 0 8 0 +8 100%
1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 0%
2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 50%
11 3 3 5 15 14 +1 27%
2 2 2 0 2 2 0 50%
5 2 1 2 14 8 +6 40%
5 0 1 4 0 5 −5 0%
2 0 1 1 3 2 −1 0%
12 4 4 4 15 17 −2 33%
9 2 1 6 9 25 −16 22%
13 2 1 10 15 29 −14 16%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0%
Total 868 310 205 353 1280 1422 −142 35.71%

Honours

Official

CompetitionTotal
FIFA World Cup0000
Olympic Games0010
UEFA European Championship0000
Total0011

Exhibition

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Norwegian national team 1946. www.rsssf.no. 20 March 2013. 27 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130627181122/http://www.rsssf.no/1946/National.html. live.
  2. Web site: Norway national football team: record v Brazil. 11v11.com. 11v11. 11 December 2018. 14 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181214071008/https://www.11v11.com/teams/norway/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Brazil/. live.
  3. Web site: 2023-11-19 . Erling Haaland to miss out on Euro 2024! How Norway have messed up qualifying for another major tournament Goal.com Ghana . 2024-02-05 . www.goal.com . en-GH.
  4. Web site: 2023-12-02 . Why Erling Haaland isn't at the Euros: How Man City star, Martin Odegaard missed out with Norway Sporting News . 2024-02-05 . www.sportingnews.com . en-us.
  5. Web site: 2023-02-13 . Can Haaland and Odegaard take Norway back to international prominence? . 2024-02-05 . France 24 . en.
  6. Web site: The radio man who gave England's boys a hell of a beating. www.sportsjournalists.co.uk. Sports Journalists' Association. 8 September 2011. 11 December 2018. 14 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114308/https://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/sports-broadcasting/the-radio-man-who-gave-englands-boys-a-hell-of-a-beating/. live.
  7. Web site: Drillo ferdig som landslagssjef – Høgmo overtar nå . no . www.vg.no . . 27 September 2013 . 11 December 2018 . 14 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065522/https://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/i/nd6BJ/drillo-ferdig-som-landslagssjef-hoegmo-overtar-naa . live .
  8. Web site: Drillo: – Jeg fikk sparken i NFF . Drillo: – I was sacked by the NFF . no . www.nrk.no . NRK Østfold . 27 May 2015 . 11 December 2018 . 14 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181214065522/https://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/i/nd6BJ/drillo-ferdig-som-landslagssjef-hoegmo-overtar-naa . live .
  9. Web site: NFF snur i drakt-saken . no . www.nrk.no . . 22 May 2008 . 11 December 2018 . 23 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210123112439/https://www.nrk.no/sport/fotball/nff-snur-i-drakt-saken-1.5762853 . live .
  10. News: Dette emblemet skal pryde den norske landslagsdrakta. This crest shall adorn the national kit of Norway. no. Dagbladet. 12 December 2014. 13 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141213080306/http://www.dagbladet.no/2014/12/12/sport/fotball/nff/landslagsdrakt/36696756/. live. Retrieved 12 December 2014
  11. News: Norge skifter fra Umbro til Nike (In Norwegian) . Aftenposten . 8 November 2017 . 1 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181101095542/https://www.aftenposten.no/100Sport/fotball/Norge-skifter-fra-Umbro-til-Nike-181608b.html . live .
  12. Web site: Holmlund . Tor Bjørnar . Hanche-Olsen klar for koronalandslaget . budstikka.no . 16 November 2020 . Budstikka . 23 November 2023.
  13. Web site: Norges tropp mot Kosovo og Danmark. Norway's squad against Kosovo and Denmark. no. Norwegian Football Federation. 22 May 2024.
  14. Web site: Norge–Slovakia – 26.03.2024. Norway–Slovakia – 26.03.2024. no. Norwegian Football Federation. 26 March 2024.
  15. Web site: Aarhus . Lars . Most national team games (1908–2020) . RSSSF Norway . 1 June 2014 . 19 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140819103349/http://www.rsssf.no/stats/MostNationalGames.html . live .
  16. Web site: Norway national football team. eu-football.info. 6 June 2012. 23 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183713/http://eu-football.info/_team.php?id=149. live.