{"id":738280,"date":"2026-06-15T13:01:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/738280\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T13:01:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:01:05","slug":"will-norways-slick-modern-model-succeed-where-the-class-of-94-failed-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/738280\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Norway\u2019s slick modern model succeed where the class of \u201994 failed? | Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Norway\u2019s highly fancied generation need a warning from history they need only look back 32 years and study the lessons from another searing, suspenseful American summer. They had raced through qualifying at England\u2019s expense to reach their first World Cup<\/a> since 1938; their top players were starting to make it in the Premier League and through the euphoria shone a confidence that a place in the knockout stage, at least, was there to be seized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got there we didn\u2019t manage to even get close to the quality of play we had produced in qualification,\u201d remembers Lars Bohinen, one of the silkier elements in a side that, under Egil Olsen, became renowned for an uncompromising and no-frills approach. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest disappointment when I talk now to my old teammates. We never got near to performing at the level we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact Norway<\/a> were a shade unfortunate. Planted in a strength-sapping group alongside Mexico, Republic of Ireland and Italy, they finished fourth despite the teams finishing level on points and goal difference. Their failure came in attack; Olsen\u2019s side were eliminated because they only scored once, beating Mexico before ultimately running aground in a famously sweltering goalless draw against Jack Charlton\u2019s team at Giants Stadium.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Group I does not look much easier. But the dynamic of Norwegian football is different now; the not entirely inaccurate picture of burly Vikings replaced by elite, technically supreme talents in the moulds of Martin \u00d8degaard and Antonio Nusa. There is an Erling Haaland-shaped spearhead to convert chances that flow more frequently in St\u00e5le Solbakken\u2019s fast, flexible setup.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then we played much more direct, physical football,\u201d Bohinen says. \u201cNow we can control the game with the ball and that\u2019s a big difference.<\/p>\n

Antonio Nusa profile<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe players\u2019 technical level has increased and so has the speed. It\u2019s a result of many years professionalising the academies at Norwegian clubs. They have better coaches, better infrastructure, better pitches, more possibilities for more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artificial turf, in place from the remotest Arctic Circle locations down to the Oslo suburbs, means the harshest conditions can be surmounted. The class of 1994 did not enjoy that luxury although Bohinen points out that their qualifying campaign, in which England were stunningly dispatched in a 2-0 win at Ullevaal, was not simply a route one exhibition. He feels they reverted more to the long ball once they reached the World Cup, where the \u201cFlo Pass\u201d \u2013 a crossfield ball generally aimed from the left-back Stig Inge Bj\u00f8rnebye to the giant centre-forward Jostein Flo, who would pull out to the right \u2013 earned renown.<\/p>\n

Lars Bohinen (right) challenges Ireland\u2019s Jason McAteer during their 1994 World Cup match in New Jersey, which ended goalless. Photograph: Simon Bruty\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had that pass going left to right,\u201d Bohinen says. \u201cThen we had to pick up the second balls from those duels. From then we had to try to get close to goal as soon as possible. That was the whole aim really: get close to goal quickly. And in the heat of the States, it was too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were a handful of roses among the thorns, including Bohinen, a classy midfielder well remembered for his spells at Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Derby. \u201cIt was easier to stand out because there were not so many who had those qualities at the time,\u201d he says. Even if the ball was frequently sent over his head, he still scored 10 times for the national team. \u201cBut now we have a lot of players, some of them really good dribblers, who have a strong technical base and make very few mistakes on that front. It\u2019s a change for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if Norway\u2019s ball players can hold their own against France, Senegal and Tuesday\u2019s opponents Iraq, an unintentional corollary may be a less aggressive defensive posture. They only conceded five times in a perfect qualifying campaign but were not seriously tested, a disappointing Italy their closest rivals. Bohinen believes the focus on creating a silkier Norwegian footballer has meant centre-backs with the ruggedness of Erland Johnsen or Henning Berg have become unfashionable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a fantastic attacking force but we don\u2019t produce defenders any more, everyone wants to be ball players,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s reflected in the national team because that\u2019s our weakest link. We\u2019ve created a lot of offensive, technical players but now we may be paying a price for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin \u00d8degaard poses for a portrait before the World Cup. Photograph: Jared C Tilton\/Fifa\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 will be among those hoping to discover Bohinen is correct. But Norway appear far better prepared for setbacks than in 1994, when the intensity of their approach backfired. \u201cWhat we all agree on is that we trained too hard,\u201d Bohinen says. \u201cThe competition for places was so big and we trained too long in the heat, as if it wasn\u2019t for a tournament but for one game. We didn\u2019t have any energy left when we played. We also spent hours going to the embassy and standing around, meeting the ambassadors and people from different industries. It took too much energy and focus away from what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those mistakes are unlikely to recur in Greensboro, where Solbakken has been tuning them up from the sanctuary of the local University of North Carolina campus. Solbakken took aim last week at the political problems that clouded the tournament\u2019s buildup but controversies within his own camp have been nonexistent. Perhaps the dance moves Haaland exhibited during a training session last Thursday reflected a cooler, calmer, slicker Norway who feel more comfortable in their modern skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe euphoria felt bigger when we qualified in \u201994,\u201d Bohinen says. \u201cWe had been complete outsiders. Now there\u2019s a little bit more expectation.\u201d Soon Norway will find out if their drastically revamped 2026 model is capable of handling it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Norway\u2019s highly fancied generation need a warning from history they need only look back 32 years and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-738280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}