Friendly in Oslo, April 20, 1994 ================================ Norway - Portugal 0-0 Ullevaal Att: 17 500 Referee: A Waddell, Scotland. Yellow card: Cruz (36), Portugal. Line-ups -------- Norway (4-5-1): F Grodås - K P Løken, H Berg, R Bratseth, S I Bjørnebye (R Nilsen from 68.) - M I Mjelde (J Flo from 83.), E Mykland, K Rekdal, L Bohinen (Ø Leonhardsen from 46.), J I Jakobsen (J Å Fjørtoft from 72.) - F Strandli. Portugal (5-4-1): A Neno (A Castro from 46.) - J Tavares - O Cruz, P Madeira, H Cristovao, R Jorge - V Paneira (J Couto from 64.), R Barros (A Folha from 52.), A Nogueira, P Bento (H Sousa from 87.) - J Cadete (P Barbosa from 79.). Match report ------------ As the result suggests this was not a classic. Portugal came with a B-side because of the European U21 final on the same day. From the start they sat back, content with keeping the ball in posession, waiting for the sudden Norwegian defensive blunder. Of course, that never came, since Norway is rather good in defence. In other words, the Portuguese were nice to watch, but very ineffective. I counted four good opportunities, one before and three after the break. Two good attempts by Paneira to lob Grodås, which was far out. Two close-range shots which went just wide. That was all. In addition we were shown the usual Latin teatrics, which included injure feigning, diving and time-waisting. Not totally unexpected, but still very annoying for the spectators. What about Norway then ? They were not very impressive either. Gone was the intensity and creativity from the Wales game. Instead we saw a lacklustre attitude, without the will to win. The players didn't seem to bother that much. Because frankly, Portugal should have been easily beaten. The only player who stood up from the masses was midfielder Erik Mykland. He was superb, both in defence and attack. Godd tackles, great vision. IMHO he was the only Norwegian who gave 100%. The rest were uninspired. Drillo tested Strandli as the lone attacker, and Mjelde as a possible Flo replacement during the WC. The experiments were not very satisfactory. Strandli is in fact much more talented than Fjørtoft, stronger, faster and better in the air. But in this match he didn't do much. He won everything in the air alright, but the timing with the other players was bad. When he flicked the ball, none of the other Norwegians were prepered. He missed one great opportunity too. A close-range shot in the first half, when he should have scored. Still, I consider him certain in a 22-man squad. Norway will need players like him in the USA. Mjelde did what Flo usually does, winning everything in the air. But along the ground he was not very good. Slow, choosing the wrong solutions all the time. The conclusion: good as a cover for Flo, should he be injured, but nothing more. BTW, Mjelde waisted Norways's best opportunity in the game. A free header in the box, from a Nilse freekick. The header was a good hard one , and would have counted, had not the direction been straight at the goalkeeper, who just managed to fist the ball over the crossbar. In total Norway created twice as many opportunities as Portugal. In addition to those already mentioned, Rekdal had a good shot from 15 metres, which was blocked by a defender, and Berg had a header from a corner saved on the goalline. Jostein Flo also managed to sparkle some life in the side during the few minutes he played. He won a few header, giving Norway two half-chances. Still they were far too predictive offensively throughout the match. Too many balls were aimlessly lifted towards Mjelde, which he should head further on. Fine, the only problem was that nobody seemed to followup these headings. The bright spot was as often the defense. It was again sound and solid, giving Portugal almost no chances. Still the conclusion must be rather negative. Norway have to play much better in the matches to come in the WC. The aggression must come back, along with the concentration. Hopefully it will, in time for the next friendly, which is on May 22th (or is it 24th?) at Wembley, against England. A tough match is expected, despite England's bad recent performance in the WC qualifying group.