Ståle Solbakken put together the national team squad on Monday where the important defensive profile has received a welcome amount of playing time in the recent period.
Ståle Solbakken is pleased that several players in the squad play regularly for their club teams.
Ahead of September’s games against Georgia and Jordan, the national team boss suggested a squad of players where the question marks depend heavily on players in defence.
Injuries and little playing time for several players, including Stian Gregersen, Kristoffer Ajer and Leo Skiri Østigård, have been far from ideal.
When Solbakken gathered his squad on Monday before the encounter against Cyprus, the situation looked much brighter.
Of the eight defenders selected for the upcoming EC qualifiers, where Spain are the number two opponents, all started for their club teams at the weekend.
This is good news for Solbakken and a rare commodity.
This is how the playing time of the entire Norwegian squad ended:
Goalkeeper:
Mathias Dyngeland: Played the entire match as Brann beat Vålerenga 2-1 in the Eliteserien on Sunday. Fixed the last chance at the Bergen club.
Ørjan Håskjold Nyland: Played another 90 minutes as Sevilla drew 2-2 against Rayo Vallecano. Has proven himself as the Spanish club’s first choice. Haven’t had much playing time for a few seasons.
Egil Selvik: Kept a clean sheet as Haugesund picked up a long-awaited win against Strømsgodset. The goalkeeper did nothing against Strømsgodset who had few finishes on target.
Defensive player:
Leo Østigård started for Napoli at the weekend and will likely do the same in Norway’s games against Cyprus and Spain this week.
Kristoffer Vassbakk Ajer: Played the entire game on the left in Brentford’s back three in their big Premier League clash against Manchester United on Saturday. Also play the previous game from the beginning.
Fredrik Bjørkan: Played as usual from the start in the Glimt defense. Got an assist in the 3-1 win over Molde. Sent off two minutes before the end.
Birger Meling: Started when FC Copenhagen met AGF in the Danish Superliga on Sunday. Did the same in the Champions League in midweek. Then replaced.
Stian Rode Gregersen: Playing the entire match at centre-back, Bordeaux lost 0-1 to Laval in the second tier of French football on Saturday. Has won back the starting spot after being sidelined due to injury.
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen: Played the entire match at right-back as Sassuolo had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Lecce in Italian football on Friday.
Julian Ryerson: Played at left-back in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Union Berlin on Saturday. Scored for the second league game in a row.
Stefan Strandberg: Was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes as Vålerenga lost 1-2 to Brann in the Eliteserien on Sunday.
Leo Skiri Østigård: Has played in Napoli’s central defense recently. Also starting Sunday’s Serie A meeting with Fiorentina.
Midfielder:
Fredrik Aursnes: Played the entire match at right-back as Benfica beat Estoril 1-0 in Portugal’s away football fixture on Saturday.
Patrick Berg: Played the entire match for Bodø/Glimt in their 3-1 win over Molde. Received a yellow card for cynical play when ruining Molde’s counter-attack towards the end of the match.
Sander Berge: Was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes of Burnley’s 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday. Entering a period with lots of playing time.
Oscar Bobb: Was on the bench throughout the dramatic match between Manchester City and Arsenal, which Arsenal won 1-0.
Antonio Nusa: Struggling with injury after he shocked the Norwegian crowd in the previous encounter. Playing the last half hour of Bruges’ 1-2 defeat to Standard Liège.
Osame Sahraoui: Played the entire match as a left winger in Heerenveen’s 4-3-3 formation in their 1-1 draw with NEC Nijmegen in the honors division on Saturday.
Ola Solbakken: Got half an hour as a substitute in Olympiakos’ 2-2 draw against TSC Serbia in the Europa League last Thursday. There are no league games this weekend.
Morten Thorsby: Played the entire game as Genoa lost 1-0 to powerhouse Milan in a highly dramatic Serie A clash on Saturday.
Hugo Vetlesen: Played 60 minutes as Brugge went their fourth straight game without a win in Belgium’s top division.
Kristian Thorstvedt: Was an unused substitute in Sassuolo’s 1-1 draw against Lecce in Serie A on Friday. Only played two matches since the start of this season.
Martin Ødegaard: Played the full game as Arsenal won in full. Tackled badly by Mateo Kovacic after less than half an hour, but the national team captain finished the match without any problems.
Tips:
Bård Finne: Started as usual in the Fire attack in the elite draw against Vålerenga on Sunday. Sent off midway through the second half after illegally stopping a Vålerenga player.
Erling Braut Haaland: Didn’t get a big chance in the match against Arsenal. Jærbuen scored one goal in the last four games he played for Manchester City.
Jørgen Strand Larsen: Scored for Celta Vigo in their 2-2 draw against Getafe in Spanish La Liga on Sunday. Come to more good opportunities.
Alexander Sørloth: Was on the pitch throughout the match as the lone striker as his Villarreal lost 1-2 to Las Palmas at home.
The European Championship qualifier against Cyprus takes place in Larnaca on Thursday 12 October, while the Spain match takes place in Ullevaal on Sunday 15 October.
“Infuriatingly humble coffee guru. Travel practitioner. Freelance zombie fanatic. Certified problem solver. Food scholar. Student.”
