While the Norwegian men failed in 11 consecutive qualifiers, the women’s national team made it through the last 20 EC and WC qualifiers. Norway are likely to secure a place in the ninth World Cup play-off from as many as possible, but Riise could be the first to sign a play-off ticket in his debut game as national team manager.

– We shouldn’t think too much about the result, but about the performance, how we want to play. We must dare to go out and give what we have, Riise told NTB after his first training session with the team.

A point on Friday would see Norway top the group and secure a place in the World Cup play-offs in Australia and New Zealand next year. A loss of up to three goals will keep Norway in front and secure a group win with a win over weak Albanians at Ullevaal on Tuesday.

Riise knows that several Norwegian national team managers, not least on the men’s side, have tried to convey too much in a short amount of time during their first meeting. He realized the danger of overwhelming the players with too much information.

Taking pictures

– We give more details on how it should be, to give them some pictures. “It’s definitely not going to look like this against Belgium but I think it’s good that the players have a pretty clear picture of how we want to play,” he said.

Guro Reiten played under Riise at LSK Kvinner and knows the new national team manager well. He was among those coached by Riise and his assistants Monica Knudsen and Ingvild Stensland in a new national team role during Tuesday’s training at Ullevaal, for his part as the inner runner in the 4-3-3.

– It’s a little weird. After a bad championship, just a few weeks, then straight to the new meeting with the new coach and the important qualifying game we have to go through. “We have to have the right focus now,” the Chelsea pro told NTB.

– They (coaches) have come with a slightly different way of playing, and they have to try to get the message across and give us the most important message ahead of the first game. We have shown in this qualifier that we have to be better than Belgium, but we have to put it out.

Addition

No less than 12 players in Riise’s main squad are from the host club: Five each from Brann and Rosenborg, one each from Vålerenga and Stabæk. Otherwise, there are six from English clubs, two from Italy, one each from the French, Spanish and Swedish leagues.

Riise would not say whether, in team selection, he would prioritize players who have been in good form so far this season over players from big clubs who haven’t started their seasons yet.

– We think holistically, what are the interactions and relationships like? It’s important to be able to play together and read to each other. “We’ll see through training, who delivers and who has a little extra, and then we’ll field the team we believe in against Belgium,” he said.

– I really want to get involved and have worked for it. It’s great to be here and finally get a chance to show off. “I think a lot of people were motivated by the resignation and saw the possibility of getting involved,” Marit Bratberg Lund told NTB. He was the best player at Toppserien last year and is one of seven possible debutants in the squad of 23.

With a good performance in Leuven, Riise will complement his already rich career CV. As a player, he won EC, WC and Olympics in addition to club titles in Norway, Japan and the United States. As a coach, he has dominated Norwegian football with LSK, winning a World Cup silver medal as an assistant for the US and being the head coach for England.

Four days before the quarter-century since the last time a Norwegian man secured a toilet seat, he could be toilet ready with women on Friday four days after he gathered the players for the first time.