Norway’s Introduction

September 6th, 2008 | by: Matt | Comments(2)

My Norwegian Introduction

Hallo og Velkommen! Jeg heter Matt Underwood!

Hello everyone! My name is Matt Underwood and I believe that I am Norway’s first writer for this website. I’ll list off a little bit about myself. I am a senior in high school in Texas. My family once came from Norway and visits the country frequently. I’ve been following Norway’s football team for years now from game to game. I’m extremely excited about my position as the writer for the Norwegian blog and will deliver the best news as frequently as I can.

Norway Ready For Åge Hareide’s Last Strike At Finals

The past few years in Norway’s soccer history can be summarized in two words: “Disappointing Endings.” Qualifying for the 2006 tournament ended abruptly when Norway lost a position in the final tournament in a play-off defeat from Czech Republic. Norway was in a definite qualifying position in its Euro 2008 campaign until a defeat from Turkey was delivered in the second-to-last game of the series. Coach Hareide was introduced in 2004 and has yet to deliver the team to a final tournament. He has announced that this is his final attempt as Norway’s head coach and plans to make the 2010 World Cup an amazing achievement for his Norwegian crew.

This Year’s Squad

Norway is returning the stars from the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and will be ready to open successfully against fellow Scandinavians, Iceland. Norway will be led by the overpowering striker John Carew along with several other amazing players. The midfield is currently a competition between several players, including former team captain Martin Andresen. Coach Hareide is very content with his defense, starting Tom Høgli, John Arne Riise as left and right defenders and Rune Almenning Jarstein in the goal. Norway starts qualifying today, Saturday September 6th against Iceland at Ullevål Stadium in Oslo.

World Cup Draw

Norway was drawn as the third seed in the 2010 World Cup Qualifying Group 9. European powerhouses Netherlands and Scotland were also drawn into this group along with Macedonia and Iceland making this group the only one with 5 teams. The top team in each group automatically makes the final tournament while the second place team will go into a play-off to make the tournament. Winning the group will be a serious challenge for the Norwegian crew, but still possible. However, the second place play-off spot is a more realistic goal. Norway’s fans have a reason to be excited this year because the team can quite easily deliver a succesful qualification. I’m looking forward to seeing how well the team fairs in Group 9 and will keep everyone posted on each game and other team news!