Norway national football team

Norway
Nickname(s)Drillos[lower-alpha 1]
Løvene (The Lions)
AssociationNorges Fotballforbund (NFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachStåle Solbakken
CaptainMartin Ødegaard
Most capsJohn Arne Riise (110)
Top scorerJørgen Juve (33)
Home stadiumUllevaal Stadion
FIFA codeNOR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 41 4 (31 March 2022)[1]
Highest2 (October 1993, July–August 1995)
Lowest88 (July 2017)
First international
 Sweden 11–3 Norway 
(Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Biggest win
 Norway 12–0 Finland 
(Bergen, Norway; 28 June 1946)[2]
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 12–0 Norway 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 7 October 1917)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1938)
Best resultRound of 16 (1938, 1998)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2000)
Best resultGroup 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. In February 2019, they were ranked by FIFA at No. 48.[3] Norway has participated three times in the FIFA World Cup (1938, 1994, 1998), and once in the UEFA European Championship (2000).

Norway is, along with Senegal, the only national team that remains unbeaten in all matches against Brazil. In four matches, Norway has a play record against Brazil of 2 wins and 2 draws,[4] in three friendly matches (in 1988, 1997 and 2006) and a 1998 World Cup group stage match.

History

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 finals 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 group. 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.[5]

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 knock out 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 finals 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[6] 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.[7]

Team image

Crest

National football team of Norway, before the match with Bulgaria, 3-09-2015

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] The new partnership will run until at least 2021.

Kit provider Period
Le Coq Sportif 1976–1980
Hummel 1981–1991
Adidas 1992–1996
Umbro 1996–2014
Nike 2015–present

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021

2 June 2021 Friendly Norway  1–0  Luxembourg Malaga, Spain
Haaland 90+2' Report Stadium: La Rosaleda Stadium
Referee: Kristoffer Karlsson (Sweden)
6 June 2021 Friendly Norway  1–2  Greece Malaga, Spain
19:00 Report Stadium: La Rosaleda Stadium
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark)
4 September 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Latvia  0–2  Norway Riga, Latvia
18:00 UTC+1 Report Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Referee: David Fuxman (Israel)
7 September 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Norway  5–1  Gibraltar Oslo, Norway
20:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Referee: Nikolas Neokleous (Cyprus)
13 November 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Norway  0–0  Latvia Oslo, Norway
18:00 UTC+1 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)

2022

29 March 2022 Friendly Norway  9–0  Armenia Oslo, Norway
Report Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Referee: Mads-Kristoffer Kristoffersen (Denmark)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Slovakia and Armenia on 25 and 29 March 2022.[11]

Caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2022, after the match against Armenia.[12]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK André Hansen (1989-12-17) 17 December 1989 11 0 Rosenborg
13 1GK Jacob Karlstrøm (1997-01-09) 9 January 1997 0 0 Molde

3 2DF Kristoffer Ajer (1998-04-17) 17 April 1998 26 0 Brentford
4 2DF Stefan Strandberg (1990-07-25) 25 July 1990 24 1 Salernitana
5 2DF Leo Skiri Østigård (1999-11-28) 28 November 1999 1 0 Genoa
12 2DF Stian Rode Gregersen (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 5 0 Bordeaux
14 2DF Julian Ryerson (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997 9 0 Union Berlin
17 2DF Fredrik André Bjørkan (1998-08-21) 21 August 1998 4 0 Hertha BSC
21 2DF Andreas Hanche-Olsen (1997-01-17) 17 January 1997 10 0 Gent
22 2DF Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (2000-07-16) 16 July 2000 9 0 Feyenoord

2 3MF Morten Thorsby (1996-05-05) 5 May 1996 12 0 Sampdoria
6 3MF Mathias Normann (1996-05-28) 28 May 1996 12 1 Norwich City
8 3MF Sander Berge (1998-02-14) 14 February 1998 26 1 Sheffield United
10 3MF Martin Ødegaard (captain) (1998-12-17) 17 December 1998 39 2 Arsenal
11 3MF Mohamed Elyounoussi (1994-08-04) 4 August 1994 41 9 Southampton
15 3MF Jens Petter Hauge (1999-10-12) 12 October 1999 8 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
16 3MF Fredrik Aursnes (1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 6 0 Feyenoord
20 3MF Mats Møller Dæhli (1995-03-02) 2 March 1995 31 3 1. FC Nürnberg

7 4FW Joshua King (1992-01-15) 15 January 1992 59 20 Watford
9 4FW Erling Haaland (2000-07-21) 21 July 2000 17 15 Borussia Dortmund
18 4FW Kristian Thorstvedt (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999 13 4 Genk
19 4FW Alexander Sørloth (1995-12-05) 5 December 1995 38 14 Real Sociedad
23 4FW Veton Berisha (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 9 1 Viking

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the Norway squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ørjan Nyland (1990-09-10) 10 September 1990 34 0 Reading v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2022 WD
GK Sten Grytebust (1989-10-25) 25 October 1989 5 0 Aalesund v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021
GK Viljar Myhra (1996-07-21) 21 July 1996 0 0 Strømsgodset v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021
GK Per Kristian Bråtveit (1996-02-15) 15 February 1996 1 0 Nîmes v.  Turkey, 8 October 2021 INJ

DF Birger Meling (1994-12-17) 17 December 1994 26 0 Rennes v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2022 WD
DF Omar Elabdellaoui (1991-12-05) 5 December 1991 49 0 Galatasaray v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2022 WD
DF Anders Trondsen (1995-03-30) 30 March 1995 4 0 Trabzonspor v.  Netherlands, 16 November 2021
DF Marius Lode (1993-03-11) 11 March 1993 2 0 Schalke 04 v.  Netherlands, 16 November 2021
DF Ruben Gabrielsen (1992-03-10) 10 March 1992 2 0 Austin FC v.  Netherlands, 16 November 2021
DF Jonas Svensson (1993-03-06) 6 March 1993 23 1 Adana Demirspor v.  Turkey, 8 October 2021 INJ

MF Ola Solbakken (1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 2 0 Bodø/Glimt v.  Slovakia, 25 March 2022 WD
MF Fredrik Midtsjø (1993-08-11) 11 August 1993 11 0 AZ v.  Netherlands, 16 November 2021 INJ
MF Iver Fossum (1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 14 1 AaB v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021
MF Patrick Berg (1997-11-24) 24 November 1997 9 0 Lens v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021 INJ
MF Dennis Johnsen (1998-02-17) 17 February 1998 1 0 Venezia v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021
MF Aron Dønnum (1998-04-20) 20 April 1998 2 0 Standard Liège v.  Gibraltar, 7 September 2021
MF Kristoffer Zachariassen (1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 1 0 Ferencváros v.  Greece, 6 June 2021

FW Thomas Lehne Olsen (1991-06-29) 29 June 1991 1 0 Shabab Al Ahli v.  Netherlands, 16 November 2021
FW Ohi Omoijuanfo (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 1 0 Red Star Belgrade v.  Montenegro, 11 October 2021
FW Erik Botheim (2000-01-10) 10 January 2000 0 0 FC Krasnodar v.  Netherlands, 1 September 2021

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.

Player records

As of 29 March 2022[13]
Players in bold are still active with Norway.

Top appearances

John Arne Riise is the most capped male player in the history of Norway with 110 caps.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 John Arne Riise 110 16 2000–2013
2 Thorbjørn Svenssen 104 0 1947–1962
3 Henning Berg 100 9 1992–2004
4 Erik Thorstvedt 97 0 1982–1996
5 John Carew 91 24 1998–2011
Brede Hangeland 91 4 2002–2014
7 Øyvind Leonhardsen 86 19 1990–2003
8 Kjetil Rekdal 83 17 1987–2000
Morten Gamst Pedersen 83 17 2004–2014
10 Steffen Iversen 79 21 1998–2011

Top goalscorers

Jørgen Juve is the top male goalscorer in the history of Norway with 33 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Career
1 Jørgen Juve 33 45 0.73 1928–1937
2 Einar Gundersen 26 33 0.79 1917–1928
3 Harald Hennum 25 43 0.58 1949–1960
4 John Carew 24 91 0.26 1998–2011
5 Ole Gunnar Solskjær 23 67 0.34 1995–2007
Tore André Flo 23 76 0.3 1995–2004
7 Gunnar Thoresen 22 64 0.34 1946–1959
8 Steffen Iversen 21 79 0.27 1998–2011
9 Joshua King 20 59 0.34 2012–present
Jan Åge Fjørtoft 20 71 0.28 1986–1996

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Not invited Not invited
1934 Did not enter Did not enter
1938 Round of 16 12th 1 0 0 1 1 2 Squad 2 1 1 0 6 5
1950 Did not enter Did not enter
1954 Did not qualify 4 0 2 2 4 9
1958 4 1 0 3 3 15
1962 4 0 0 4 3 11
1966 6 3 1 2 10 5
1970 4 1 0 3 4 13
1974 6 2 0 4 9 16
1978 4 2 0 2 3 4
1982 8 2 2 4 8 15
1986 8 1 3 4 4 10
1990 8 2 2 4 10 9
1994 Group stage 17th 3 1 1 1 1 1 Squad 10 7 2 1 25 5
1998 Round of 16 15th 4 1 2 1 5 5 Squad 8 6 2 0 21 2
2002 Did not qualify 10 2 4 4 12 14
2006 12 5 3 4 12 9
2010 8 2 4 2 9 7
2014 10 3 3 4 10 13
2018 10 4 1 5 17 16
2022 10 5 3 2 15 8
2026 To be determined To be determined
Total Round of 16 3/21 8 2 3 3 7 8 136 49 33 54 185 186

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 6
1964 2 0 1 1 1 3
1968 6 1 1 4 9 14
1972 6 0 1 5 5 18
1976 6 1 0 5 5 15
1980 8 0 1 7 5 20
1984 6 1 2 3 7 8
1988 8 1 2 5 5 12
1992 8 3 3 2 9 5
1996 10 6 2 2 17 7
2000 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 1 1 Squad 10 8 1 1 21 9
2004 Did not qualify 10 4 2 4 10 10
2008 12 7 2 3 27 11
2012 8 5 1 2 10 7
2016 12 6 1 5 14 13
2020 11 4 5 2 20 13
2024 To be determined To be determined
Total Group stage 1/16 3 1 1 1 1 1 125 47 25 53 167 171

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 C 3 64117226th
2020–21 B 1 631212722nd
2022–23 B To be determined
Total 12 7 2 3 19 9 22nd

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
1908Did not enter
1912Quarter-finals6th100107Squad
19209th210135Squad
1924Did not enter
1928
1936Bronze medal3rd4301104Squad
1948Did not enter
1952Round of 1616th100114Squad
1956Did not enter
1960Did not qualify
1964Did not enter
1968
1972
1976
1980Did not qualify
1984Group stage17th311132Squad
Since 1992Olympics football has been an under-23 tournament
TotalBronze medal5/16115151722

All-time team record

The following table shows Norway's all-time international record, correct as of 11 October 2021.[14]

Managers

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. The table lists the manager, his nationality, the period he was manager, games played (P), games won (W), games drawn (D), games lost (L), goals for (F) and goals against (A). It also lists any finals reached and how far the team progressed. The list is up to date as of 29 March 2022.[15][16]

Manager Nationality Tenure P W D L F A Finals
Willibald Hahn Austria1 August 1953 – 31 December 19552677122842
Ron Lewin England1 January 1956 – 31 December 1957175482538
Edmund Majowski Poland1 January 1958 – 15 September 19585311108
Ragnar Larsen Norway16 September 1958 – 31 December 1958100114
Kristian Henriksen Norway1 January 1959 – 31 December 1959103071529
Wilhelm Kment Austria1 January 1960 – 15 August 19622062123245
Ragnar Larsen Norway16 August 1962 – 31 December 196633117154774
Wilhelm Kment Austria1 January 1967 – 31 December 19692593133961
Øivind Johannessen Norway1 January 1970 – 31 December 19711742111843
George Curtis England1 January 1972 – August 19741732121730
Kjell Schou-Andreassen and
Nils Arne Eggen
NorwayAugust 1974 – 31 December 19772764172652
Tor Røste Fossen Norway1 January 1978 – 30 June 19879428283896119
Tord Grip Sweden1 July 1987 – 30 June 1988704337
Ingvar Stadheim Norway1 July 1988 – 10 October 19902458113237
Egil Olsen Norway11 October 1990 – 30 June 199888462616168631994 World Cup – Group stage
1998 World Cup – Round of 16
Nils Johan Semb Norway1 July 1998 – 31 December 2003682921188961Euro 2000 – Group stage
Åge Hareide Norway1 January 2004 – 8 December 2008582418168865
Egil Olsen Norway14 January 2009 – 27 September 201349258166150
Per-Mathias Høgmo Norway27 September 2013 – 16 November 201635107183349
Lars Lagerbäck Sweden1 February 2017 – 6 December 20203418886034
Leif Gunnar Smerud Norway18 November 2020101011
Ståle Solbakken Norway7 December 2020 148332810

Honours

Official

See also

Notes

  1. In the period when Egil 'Drillo' Olsen was head coach.

References

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Norwegian national team 1946". www.rsssf.no.
  3. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking Table − Men's Ranking". FIFA.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. "Norway national football team: record v Brazil". 11v11.com. 11v11. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  5. "The radio man who gave England's boys a hell of a beating". www.sportsjournalists.co.uk. Sports Journalists' Association. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  6. "Drillo ferdig som landslagssjef - Høgmo overtar nå". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  7. "Drillo: – Jeg fikk sparken i NFF" [Drillo: - I was sacked by the NFF]. www.nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK Østfold. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  8. "NFF snur i drakt-saken". www.nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  9. "Dette emblemet skal pryde den norske landslagsdrakta" [This crest shall adorn the national kit of Norway]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 December 2014
  10. "Norge skifter fra Umbro til Nike (In Norwegian)". Aftenposten.
  11. "Norges tropp mot Slovakia og Armenia". fotball.no (in Norwegian). 15 March 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  12. Norway national team statistics, eu-football-info. Accessed 31 October 2017.
  13. Aarhus, Lars. "Most national team games (1908-2020)". RSSSF Norway.
  14. "Norway national football team". eu-football.info.
  15. "National team coaches (1953–2019)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  16. "Norwegian National Football Team Matches". NFF. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
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