Norway national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Norway women's national football team.
Norway
Association Norges Fotballforbund (NFF)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Per-Mathias Høgmo
Asst coach Jarl Torske
Captain Per Ciljan Skjelbred
Most caps John Arne Riise (110)
Top scorer Jørgen Juve (33)
Home stadium Ullevaal Stadion
FIFA code NOR
FIFA ranking 70 Steady (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 2 (October 1993, July–August 1995)
Lowest FIFA ranking 76 (September 2014)
Elo ranking 59 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 6 (June 2000)
Lowest Elo ranking 91 (May–June 1976)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Sweden 11–3 Norway 
(Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Biggest win
 Norway 12–0 Finland 
(Bergen, Norway; 28 June 1946)[1]
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 12–0 Norway 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 7 October 1917)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (First in 1938)
Best result Round of 16, 1998
European Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2000)
Best result Group Stage, 2000
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Bronze 1936 Berlin Team

The Norway national football team (Norwegian: Norges herrelandslag i fotball) represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Per-Mathias Høgmo.[2] It is as of September 2014 currently ranked by FIFA as the 76th best national team in the world.[3]

Norway has participated three times in the FIFA World Cup (1938, 1994, 1998), and once in the European Championship (2000).

Norway is also notable as the only national team that has never lost any of the matches it has had against Brazil. In four matches played, Norway has a record of two wins and two draws against Brazil, with one of those victories coming in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

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 hosts Germany earlier in the tournament. Norway also qualified for the 1938 World Cup, where they lost 2–1 after extra time against eventual champions Italy. This turned out to be 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 as one of the weaker nations 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.

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 even ranked second on the FIFA World Rankings. 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 FIFA World Cup.

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. In France 1998, Norway was 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.

The former under-21 coach Nils Johan Semb replaced Olsen after the planned retirement of the latter. Under Semb's guidance, Norway qualified for the 2000 European Championship, 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 after Norway lost at home to Switzerland and failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was replaced with Per-Mathias Høgmo.

Norway's best single result is arguably the 2–1 win against Brazil on 23 June 1998 in the World Cup group stage (a game, before which Brazil were already the group winner). Norway is in fact the only team in the world that has played against Brazil and never lost. In its four matches all-time against Brazil, Norway have won twice, and drawn on the other two occasions.

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 complaints were received the crest was dropped. 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.[4]

Championship records

World Cup

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938Round 112100112
Brazil 1950 Did not enter
Switzerland 1954Did not qualify
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
East Germany 1974
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994Group Stage17311111
France 1998Round of 1615412155
South KoreaJapan 2002 Did not qualify
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018TBD-------
Qatar 2022TBD-------
2026TBD-------
2030TBD-------
TotalRound of 163/20823378
  

European Championship

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
West Germany 1960Did not qualify
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
East Germany 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996
BelgiumNetherlands 2000Group Stage311111
Portugal 2004Did not qualify
AustriaSwitzerland 2008
PolandUkraine 2012
France 2016TBD------
Total1/14311111

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Croatia Italy Norway Bulgaria Azerbaijan Malta
1  Croatia 5 4 1 0 15 2 +13 13 Advance to final tournament — 12 Jun 5–1 10 Oct 6–0 2–0
2  Italy 5 3 2 0 8 4 +4 11 1–1 — 13 Oct 6 Sep 2–1 3 Sep
3  Norway 5 3 0 2 7 8 −1 9 Final tournament or play-offs 6 Sep 0–2 — 2–1 12 Jun 10 Oct
4  Bulgaria 5 1 2 2 6 7 −1 5 0–1 2–2 3 Sep — 13 Oct 1–1
5  Azerbaijan 5 1 0 4 4 11 −7 3 3 Sep 10 Oct 0–1 1–2 — 2–0
6  Malta 5 0 1 4 1 9 −8 1 13 Oct 0–1 0–3 12 Jun 6 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 28 March 2015. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Current squad

The following squad was called up for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Croatia on 28 March 2015 on Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia.[5]
Caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2015[6]

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Ørjan Nyland 10 September 1990 11 0 Norway Molde
GK Sten Grytebust 25 October 1989 2 0 Norway Aalesund
GK André Hansen 17 December 1989 2 0 Norway Rosenborg
DF Tom Høgli 24 February 1984 44 2 Denmark Copenhagen
DF Håvard Nordtveit 21 June 1990 22 2 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
DF Vegard Forren 16 February 1988 21 0 Norway Molde
DF Omar Elabdellaoui 5 December 1991 13 0 Greece Olympiacos
DF Martin Linnes 20 September 1991 11 0 Norway Molde
DF Even Hovland 14 February 1989 4 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
DF Vegar Eggen Hedenstad 26 June 1991 4 0 Germany Eintracht Braunschweig
DF Ruben Gabrielsen 10 March 1992 0 0 Norway Molde
MF Per Ciljan Skjelbred (captain) 16 June 1987 30 1 Germany Hertha BSC
MF Alexander Tettey 4 April 1986 23 1 England Norwich City
MF Markus Henriksen 25 July 1992 18 1 Netherlands AZ
MF Stefan Johansen 8 January 1991 16 1 Scotland Celtic
MF Valon Berisha 7 February 1993 13 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
MF Mats Møller Dæhli 2 March 1995 12 1 Germany SC Freiburg
MF Jone Samuelsen 6 July 1984 7 0 Norway Odd
MF Anders Konradsen 18 July 1990 7 1 France Rennes
MF Harmeet Singh 12 November 1990 6 0 Norway Molde
MF Martin Ødegaard 17 December 1998 4 0 Spain Real Madrid Castilla
FW Tarik Elyounoussi (vice-captain) 23 February 1988 38 9 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim
FW Mohammed Abdellaoue 23 October 1985 33 7 Germany VfB Stuttgart
FW Håvard Nielsen 15 July 1993 12 2 Germany Eintracht Braunschweig

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 Rune Jarstein 29 September 1984 38 0 Germany Hertha BSC v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2014 [7]
DF Steffen Hagen 8 March 1986 3 0 Norway Odd v.  Croatia, 28 March 2015 [a] [5]
DF Tore Reginiussen 10 April 1986 21 2 Norway Rosenborg v.  Croatia, 28 March 2015 [a] [5]
DF Per Egil Flo 18 January 1989 4 0 Norway Molde v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2014 [7]
DF André Danielsen 20 January 1985 2 0 Norway Viking v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2014 [8]
DF Fredrik Semb Berge 6 February 1990 3 0 Norway Molde v.  Italy, 9 September 2014 [9]
DF Thomas Grøgaard 8 February 1994 1 0 Norway Odd v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
DF Brede Hangeland RET 20 June 1981 91 4 England Crystal Palace v.  Russia, 31 May 2014 [11]
DF Johan Lædre Bjørdal 5 May 1986 3 0 Denmark AGF v.  Russia, 31 May 2014 [11]
DF Stian Ringstad 29 August 1991 1 0 Norway Lillestrøm v.  Russia, 31 May 2014 [11]
DF Jonathan Parr 21 October 1988 9 0 England Ipswich Town v.  France, 27 May 2014 [a] [11]
MF Pål André Helland 4 January 1990 0 0 Norway Rosenborg v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2014 [7]
MF Henning Hauger 17 July 1985 23 0 Sweden Elfsborg v.  Malta, 10 October 2014 [a] [8]
MF Ruben Yttergård Jenssen 4 May 1988 34 0 Germany 1. FC Kaiserslautern v.  Italy, 9 September 2014 [9]
MF Morten Gamst Pedersen 8 September 1981 83 17 Norway Rosenborg v.  Italy, 9 September 2014 [9]
MF Mohamed Elyounoussi 4 August 1994 3 0 Norway Molde v.  Italy, 9 September 2014 [9]
MF Christian Grindheim 17 July 1983 54 2 Norway Vålerenga v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
MF Yann-Erik de Lanlay 14 May 1992 5 1 Norway Viking v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
MF Fredrik Ulvestad 17 June 1992 1 0 England Burnley v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
MF Daniel Braaten 25 May 1982 52 4 Norway Vålerenga v.  Russia, 31 May 2014 [11]
FW Fredrik Gulbrandsen 10 September 1992 2 0 Norway Molde v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2014 [7]
FW Alexander Søderlund 3 August 1987 17 0 Norway Rosenborg v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2014 [7]
FW Joshua King 15 January 1992 15 4 England Blackburn Rovers v.  Bulgaria, 13 October 2014 [8]
FW Ola Kamara 15 October 1989 7 1 Norway Molde v.  Italy, 9 September 2014 [9]
FW Marcus Pedersen 8 June 1990 7 1 Norway Brann v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
FW Fredrik Brustad 22 June 1989 1 0 Sweden AIK v.  United Arab Emirates, 27 August 2014 [10]
Notes

Individual all-time records

John Arne Riise is the most capped player in the history of Norway with 110 caps.
  Still active players are highlighted

Top Appearances

# Player Career Matches
1 John Arne Riise 2000–2013 110
2 Thorbjørn Svenssen 1947–1962 104
3 Henning Berg 1992–2004 100
4 Erik Thorstvedt 1982–1996 97
5 John Carew 1998–2011 91
Brede Hangeland 2002–2014 91
7 Øyvind Leonhardsen 1990–2003 86
8 Kjetil Rekdal 1987–2000 83
Morten Gamst Pedersen 2004–present 83
10 Steffen Iversen 1998–2011 79

Last updated: 9 September 2014
Source: RSSSF.no

Top Goalscorers

Jørgen Juve is the top goalscorer in the history of Norway with 33 goals.
# Player Career Goals Matches Average
1 Jørgen Juve 1928–1937 33 45 0.73
2 Einar Gundersen 1917–1928 26 33 0.79
3 Harald Hennum 1949–1960 25 43 0.58
4 John Carew 1998–2011 24 91 0.26
5 Ole Gunnar Solskjær 1995–2007 23 67 0.34
Tore André Flo 1995–2004 23 76 0.30
7 Gunnar Thoresen 1946–1959 22 64 0.34
8 Steffen Iversen 1998–2011 21 79 0.27
9 Jan Åge Fjørtoft 1986–1996 20 71 0.28
10 Odd Iversen 1967–1979 19 45 0.42
Olav Nilsen 1962–1971 19 62 0.31
Øyvind Leonhardsen 1990–2003 19 86 0.22

Last updated: 9 September 2014
Source: RSSSF.no

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 12 November 2014.[12][13]

Manager Nationality Tenure P W D L F A Finals
Hahn, WillibaldWillibald Hahn Austria Austria 1 August 1953 – 31 December 1955 26 7 7 12 28 42
Lewin, RonRon Lewin England England 1 January 1956 – 31 December 1957 17 5 4 8 25 38
Majowski, EdmundEdmund Majowski Poland Poland 1 January 1958 – 15 September 1958 5 3 1 1 10 8
Larsen, RagnarRagnar Larsen Norway Norway 16 September 1958 – 31 December 1958 1 0 0 1 1 4
Henriksen, KristianKristian Henriksen Norway Norway 1 January 1959 – 31 December 1959 10 3 0 7 15 29
Kment, WilhelmWilhelm Kment Austria Austria 1 January 1960 – 15 August 1962 20 6 2 12 32 45
Larsen, RagnarRagnar Larsen Norway Norway 16 August 1962 – 31 December 1966 33 11 7 15 47 74
Kment, WilhelmWilhelm Kment Austria Austria 1 January 1967 – 31 December 1969 25 9 3 13 39 61
Johannessen, ØivindØivind Johannessen Norway Norway 1 January 1970 – 31 December 1971 17 4 2 11 18 43
Curtis, GeorgeGeorge Curtis England England 1 January 1972 – August 1974 17 4 2 11 18 43
Schou-Andreassen, KjellKjell Schou-Andreassen and
Nils Arne Eggen 		Norway Norway August 1974 – 31 December 1977 27 6 4 17 26 52
Fossen, Tor RøsteTor Røste Fossen Norway Norway 1 January 1978 – 30 June 1987 94 28 28 38 96 119
Grip, TordTord Grip Sweden Sweden 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1988 7 0 4 3 3 7
Stadheim, IngvarIngvar Stadheim Norway Norway 1 July 1988 – 10 October 1990 24 5 8 11 32 37
Olsen, EgilEgil Olsen Norway Norway 11 October 1990 – 30 June 1998 88 46 26 16 168 63 1994 World Cup – Group stage
1998 World Cup – Round of 16
Semb, Nils JohanNils Johan Semb Norway Norway 1 July 1998 – 31 December 2003 68 29 21 18 89 61 Euro 2000 – Group stage
Hareide, ÅgeÅge Hareide Norway Norway 1 January 2004 – 8 December 2008 58 24 18 16 88 65
Olsen, EgilEgil Olsen Norway Norway 14 January 2009 – 27 September 2013 48 25 8 15 62 46
Høgmo, Per-MathiasPer-Mathias Høgmo Norway Norway 27 September 2013 – 16 4 4 8 13 23

All-time team record

The following table shows Norway's all-time international record, correct as of 16 November 2014.[14]

Kit Suppliers

Since 1996, Norway's kit have been supplied by Umbro. They took over from Adidas who supplied Norway's kit between 1992 to 1996.

Norway and Nike have announced a new partnership that will see the sportswear provider become the official Norwegian team kit supplier from January 1, 2015.

Nike are replacing Umbro , who have been the official jersey supplier since 1996. The new partnership will run until at least 2021.

The new Nike Norway kits are expected to be unveiled at the beginning of the partnership in January 1, 2015.

See also

Notes

    References

    External links