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

Nickname(s)	Drillos
Association	Football Association of Norway (Norges Fotballforbund)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Egil Olsen
Asst coach	Ola By Rise
Captain	Brede Hangeland
Most caps	Thorbjørn Svenssen (104)
Top scorer	Jørgen Juve (33)
Home stadium	Ullevaal Stadion
FIFA code	NOR
FIFA ranking	24
Highest FIFA ranking	2 (October 1993, July–August 1995)
Lowest FIFA ranking	59 (December 2008)
Elo ranking	29
Highest Elo ranking	6 (June 2000)
Lowest Elo ranking	91 (May–June 1976)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Sweden 11–3 Norway (Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Biggest win
Norway 12–0 Iceland (Bergen, Norway; 28 June 1946)
Biggest defeat
Denmark 12–0 Norway (Copenhagen, Denmark; 7 October 1917)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1938)
Best result	Round 2, 1998
European Championship
Appearances	1 (First in 2000)
Best result	Round 1, 2000

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Bronze	1936 Berlin	Team

The Norway national football team 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 Egil Olsen. It is as of October 2011 currently ranked by FIFA as the 24th best national team in the world.

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

History

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 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 reigning European champions 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. Together with a rising quality in Norwegian players, Olsen is given much of the credit for taking Norway's national team from obscurity and turning them into a dreaded opponent, respected around the world^{[citation needed]}. 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. During the 1994 World Cup tournament Norway received some criticism, claiming their somewhat defensive tactics ruined the fun of the game^{[citation needed]}.

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.

Norway's best single result is arguably the 2–1 win against Brazil on 23 June 1998 in the World Cup group stage. 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 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.

Championship records

World Cup Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA 1930 Did not enter - - - - - - - 1934 Did not enter - - - - - - - 1938 Round 1 12 1 0 0 1 1 2 1950 Did not enter - - - - - - - 1954 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1958 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1962 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1966 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1970 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1974 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1978 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1982 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1986 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1990 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 1994 Round 1 17 3 1 1 1 1 1 1998 Round 2 15 4 1 2 1 5 5 2002 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 2006 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 2010 Did not qualify - - - - - - - 2014 TBD - - - - - - - 2018 TBD - - - - - - - 2022 TBD - - - - - - - Total 3/19 8 2 3 3 7 8

European Championship Year Round GP W D* L GS GA 1960 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1964 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1968 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1972 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1976 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1980 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1984 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1988 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1992 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1996 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2000 Round 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2004 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2008 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2012 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2016 TBD - - - - - - Total 1/13 3 1 1 1 1 1

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Legend
Group winners and best runner-up among all groups directly qualify for the finals
Remaining group runners-up advance to the play-offs

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Denmark 8 6 1 1 15 6 +9 19 Portugal 8 5 1 2 21 12 +9 16 Norway 8 5 1 2 10 7 +3 16 Iceland 8 1 1 6 6 14 −8 4 Cyprus 8 0 2 6 7 20 −13 2

Cyprus — 1–4 0–0 1–2 0–4 Denmark 2–0 — 1–0 2–0 2–1 Iceland 1–0 0–2 — 1–2 1–3 Norway 3–1 1–1 1–0 — 1–0 Portugal 4–4 3–1 5–3 1–0 —

Current players

The following players were called up for the friendly against Northern Ireland on 29 February 2012.

Statistics correct as of 29 February 2012.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Rune Almenning Jarstein 29 September 1984 (1984-09-29) 19 0 Viking GK Espen Bugge Pettersen 10 May 1980 (1980-05-10) 5 0 Molde DF Vadim Demidov 10 October 1986 (1986-10-10) 13 0 Real Sociedad DF Brede Hangeland 20 June 1981 (1981-06-20) 73 1 Fulham DF Tom Høgli 24 February 1984 (1984-02-24) 24 1 Club Brugge DF Tore Reginiussen 10 April 1986 (1986-04-10) 12 2 OB DF John Arne Riise 24 September 1980 (1980-09-24) 101 14 Fulham DF Thomas Rogne 29 June 1990 (1990-06-29) 1 0 Celtic DF Espen Ruud 26 February 1984 (1984-02-26) 19 1 OB MF Valon Berisha 7 February 1993 (1993-02-07) 4 0 Viking MF Christian Grindheim 17 July 1983 (1983-07-17) 49 2 FC Copenhagen MF Markus Henriksen 25 July 1992 (1992-07-25) 6 0 Rosenborg MF Ruben Yttergård Jenssen 4 May 1988 (1988-05-04) 13 0 Tromsø MF Håvard Nordtveit 21 June 1990 (1990-06-21) 3 1 Borussia Mönchengladbach MF Morten Gamst Pedersen 8 September 1981 (1981-09-08) 72 16 Blackburn Rovers FW Mohammed Abdellaoue 23 October 1985 (1985-10-23) 19 5 Hannover 96 FW Daniel Braaten 25 May 1982 (1982-05-25) 34 2 Toulouse FW Tarik Elyounoussi 23 February 1988 (1988-02-23) 8 3 Fredrikstad FW Erik Huseklepp 5 September 1984 (1984-09-05) 27 7 Portsmouth

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Jon Knudsen 20 November 1974 (1974-11-20) 20 0 Fredrikstad v Denmark, 6 September 2011 DF Vegard Forren 16 February 1988 (1988-02-16) 2 0 Molde v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Steffen Hagen 8 March 1986 (1986-03-08) 2 0 Odd Grenland v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Vegar Eggen Hedenstad 26 June 1991 (1991-06-26) 2 0 Stabæk v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Even Hovland 14 February 1989 (1989-02-14) 3 0 Molde v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Kim André Madsen 12 March 1989 (1989-03-12) 1 0 Strømsgodset v Czech Republic, 10 August 2011 DF Jonathan Parr 21 October 1988 (1988-10-21) 6 0 Crystal Palace v Wales, 12 November 2011 DF Stefan Strandberg 25 July 1990 (1990-07-25) 0 0 Rosenborg v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Lars Christopher Vilsvik 18 October 1988 (1988-10-18) 2 0 Strømsgodset v King's Cup, January 2012 DF Kjetil Wæhler 16 March 1976 (1976-03-16) 29 1 IFK Göteborg v Wales, 12 November 2011 MF Simen Brenne 17 March 1981 (1981-03-17) 15 1 Odd Grenland v King's Cup, January 2012 MF Thomas Drage 20 February 1992 (1992-02-20) 1 0 Tromsø v King's Cup, January 2012 MF Magnus Wolff Eikrem 8 August 1990 (1990-08-08) 3 0 Molde v King's Cup, January 2012 MF Henning Hauger 17 July 1985 (1985-07-17) 23 0 Hannover 96 v Denmark, 6 September 2011 MF Magnus Lekven 13 January 1988 (1988-01-13) 2 0 Odd Grenland v King's Cup, January 2012 MF Petter Vaagan Moen 5 February 1984 (1984-02-05) 9 1 Lillestrøm v Poland, 9 February 2011 MF Bjørn Helge Riise 21 June 1983 (1983-06-21) 31 1 Fulham v Denmark, 6 September 2011 MF Harmeet Singh 12 November 1990 (1990-11-12) 3 0 Vålerenga v King's Cup, January 2012 MF Per Ciljan Skjelbred 16 June 1987 (1987-06-16) 17 0 Hamburg v Poland, 9 February 2011 MF Alexander Tettey 4 April 1986 (1986-04-04) 12 0 Rennes v Wales, 12 November 2011 FW Mustafa Abdellaoue 1 August 1988 (1988-08-01) 3 0 FC Copenhagen v King's Cup, January 2012 FW Jo Inge Berget 11 September 1990 (1990-09-11) 1 0 Molde v King's Cup, January 2012 FW John Carew 5 September 1979 (1979-09-05) 91 24 West Ham United v Wales, 12 November 2011 FW Steffen Iversen 10 November 1976 (1976-11-10) 79 21 Rosenborg v Denmark, 26 March 2011 FW Morten Moldskred 13 June 1980 (1980-06-13) 9 1 AGF Århus v Poland, 9 February 2011 FW Alexander Søderlund 3 August 1987 (1987-08-03) 3 0 Haugesund v King's Cup, January 2012 FW Thomas Sørum 17 November 1982 (1982-11-17) 1 0 Helsingborg v King's Cup, January 2012 Notes Individual all-time records   Still active players are highlighted Most matches played Main article: List of Norway international footballers # Player Career Matches 1 Thorbjørn Svenssen 1947–1962 104 2 John Arne Riise 2000–present 101 3 Henning Berg 1992–2004 100 4 Erik Thorstvedt 1982–1996 97 5 John Carew 1998–present 91 6 Øyvind Leonhardsen 1990–2003 86 7 Kjetil Rekdal 1987–2000 83 8 Steffen Iversen 1998–present 79 9 Erik Mykland 1990–2000 78 10 Svein Grøndalen 1973–1984 77 Last updated: 29 February 2012 Source: RSSSF.no Most goals scored # 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–present 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–present 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: 2 September 2011 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 6 December 2011. Manager Nationality Tenure P W D L F A Finals Hahn, WillibaldWillibald Hahn Austria 01953-08-01 1 August 1953 – 31 December 1955 26 7 7 12 28 42 Lewin, RonRon Lewin England 01956-01-01 1 January 1956 – 31 December 1957 17 5 4 8 25 38 Majowski, EdmundEdmund Majowski Poland 01958-01-01 1 January 1958 – 15 September 1958 5 3 1 1 10 8 Larsen, RagnarRagnar Larsen Norway 01958-09-16 16 September 1958 – 31 December 1958 1 0 0 1 1 4 Henriksen, KristianKristian Henriksen Norway 01959-01-01 1 January 1959 – 31 December 1959 10 3 0 7 15 29 Kment, WilhelmWilhelm Kment Austria 01960-01-01 1 January 1960 – 15 August 1962 20 6 2 12 32 45 Larsen, RagnarRagnar Larsen Norway 01962-08-16 16 August 1962 – 31 December 1966 33 11 7 15 47 74 Kment, WilhelmWilhelm Kment Austria 01967-01-01 1 January 1967 – 31 December 1969 25 9 3 13 39 61 Johannessen, ØivindØivind Johannessen Norway 01970-01-01 1 January 1970 – 31 December 1971 17 4 2 11 18 43 Curtis, GeorgeGeorge Curtis England 01972-01-01 1 January 1972 – August 1974 17 4 2 11 18 43 Schou-Andreassen, KjellKjell Schou-Andreassen and Nils Arne Eggen Norway 01970-08 August 1970 – 31 December 1977 27 6 4 17 26 52 Fossen, Tor RøsteTor Røste Fossen Norway 01978-01-01 1 January 1978 – 30 June 1987 94 28 28 38 96 119 Grip, TordTord Grip Sweden 01987-07-01 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1988 7 0 4 3 3 7 Stadheim, IngvarIngvar Stadheim Norway 01988-07-01 1 July 1988 – 10 October 1990 24 5 8 11 32 37 Olsen, EgilEgil Olsen Norway 01990-10-11 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 01998-07-01 1 July 1998 – 31 December 2003 68 29 21 18 89 61 Euro 2000 – Group stage Hareide, ÅgeÅge Hareide Norway 02004-01-01 1 January 2004 – 8 December 2008 58 24 18 16 88 65 Olsen, EgilEgil Olsen Norway 02009-01-14 14 January 2009 – 28 17 3 8 37 26 See also Norway women's national football team Sápmi football team References External links Official website of The Norwegian Football Association (NFF) in English and Norwegian RSSSF archive of results 1908– RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers Complete list of Norwegian international players