Arguably the biggest game so far in Group A takes place on Sunday evening, when Norway host Spain. The two sides are pushing for qualification and a win is vital for both nations, however they will also be desperate to not lose the tie. When they met in March, Spain cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Norway
Stale Solbakken’s side currently sit in third place after six matches, winning three times, drawing once, and losing twice. Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland are the stars of Norway, so there is no surprise that scoring goals hasn’t been a massive issue for Norway. However, they have had some issues in defence and they’ve conceded in all but one of their matches thus far. Unfortunately for Norway, the two defeats they have suffered have been against the two nations above them in Group A.
Having said that, Norway have won their last three matches, with the most recent win coming against Cyprus this week. Alexander Sorloth opened the scoring in the 33rd minute and Erling Haaland netted a quickfire brace just before being subbed off in the 77th minute. Norway then scored the fourth via Fredrik Aursnes, which wrapped up an easy 4-0 victory.
Spain
Jose Luis De La Fuente has created a winning formula that has turned an underperforming Spain into a robust, creative, and clinical side. The Spanish national team have won 80% of their qualifying games so far, with their only defeat occurring against group leaders, Scotland. During the opening five matches, they’ve scored 18 goals and only conceded three, which puts them in second place with a game in hand. Spain have registered some impressive results also, such as the 7-1 win over Georgia and the 6-0 victory against Cyprus.
Spain’s most recent match saw them defeat top of the table Scotland 2-0. The tie was close and Spain needed some luck in order to get past their opponent, which they eventually did thanks to second half strikes from Alvaro Morata and Oihan Sancet.
Verdict?
This game will be close and we should see Spain dominate the ball, controlling the majority of the tie with their technical class. Norway will have to remain resilient in defence and choose their moments in attack. With Haaland in the side, there is always a chance they will score.
The Final prediction is Norway 1-2 Spain.
