The Norwegian national team has undoubtedly gained a new dimension.

Against Cyprus on Thursday, Norway played more than an hour without Antonio Nusa and Oscar Bobb. The score is 1-0. Then the two talents stepped in, and suddenly the attacks grew faster and more unpredictable. Nusa creates something almost every time he gets the ball. Norway won 4-0.

It’s natural for a good team to have wings who can pass one on one. But for Norway, this is something new.

For Norway, this could change a lot.

Super talent

We will soon see a breakthrough from two types of players that the national team has been missing for a long time. This was the third A-team match for Nusa, an 18-year-old from Langhus who plays for Club Brugge in Belgium. In September, he scored on his debut, against Jordan, before setting up two of Norway’s goals in a home win against Georgia.

Last year, Nusa became the second youngest goalscorer in the Champions League. This summer, Chelsea tried to buy him for NOK 400 million, according to the report Television 2.

In three international games, he has shown why.

Then there is Bobb, a winger who plays for Manchester City. He is also quick, technical and creative, with a raw ability to create things on small surfaces, which he has demonstrated during his five games for the A’s light blue team.

Looks like we should pinch ourselves. Apart from Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, Norway has that talent desired from one of the biggest clubs in the world, and another who has played for the best teams in the world.

And they are 18 and 20 years old.

Whatever happens against Spain on Sunday, this could be the start of an offensive revolution. Not only because Nusa and Bobb are good, but because of the quality they bring to the national team.

– A bit different to what we had, stopper Stefan Strandberg said of Nusa in September.

You can safely say that.

Tips on the edges

When was the last time Norway had two players like that?

The national team of the 90s mostly consisted of strong attackers and tough strikers. Norway is most dangerous when the ball is in the air or with the opponent. Flo’s pass makes sense: If no one is dribbling the ball on the touchline, the full-back could just hit the ball from his own half.

In the 2000 European Championship, Norway faced Slovenia with four strikers in their eleven: John Carew, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Steffen Iversen and Tore André Flo. Two of them played on the sidelines. It was 0-0 and Norway was eliminated.

Wingers with strong dribbling are important for creating opportunities against established defences. The world knows Norway as a team that bets on counter attacks, breaks and set pieces.

Norway hair have technical players. Ullevaal has seen neat movement, powerful free kicks and sensitive passes. But hardly anyone combines speed, technique and unpredictability in such a way that it creates imbalances time and time again. There’s little that gets the audience out of their seats, excited about what’s to come. Without such qualities, Norway may have difficulty beating Luxembourg and San Marino.

Even in this EC qualification, Alexander Sørloth, who plays as a striker, played in the right wing position. He is good in the penalty box, but without a good dribbler, Norway has to rely on high ball tempo and intelligent movement. That Can go. But it’s easier to have an artist who likes to play around, the type that many big teams take for granted.

And even if a striker like Sørloth can create chances on the right, Norway lacks specialists. They lost the type of player that many big teams take for granted.

Even stars need help

Most good club teams in Europe have dribblers like that. Martin Ødegaard and Erling Braut Haaland scored goals in the Premier League because they had teammates who made space for them.

At Arsenal, Ødegaard played between wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Often they are the ones who initiate attacks, before the ball ends up with Ødegaard in front of goal.

Haaland is relying on City to overcome the challenge. One of Pep Guardiola’s rules is that one must always stretch the play to allow more space in the midfield. He’s always had a dribbler at City, from Leroy Sané to Riyad Mahrez and now Jérémy Doku.

Ødegaard scored 15 goals in 37 league games for Arsenal last season.

Ødegaard has scored 3 goals in 54 international matches for Norway.

Not because he contributes less to the national team, but because the structure around him is not the same.

This is how you beat Norway

Because as long as Norway has difficulty creating an advantage, the opponent can use their strength to get closer to the middle.

Scotland and Georgia have taken points from Norway in qualifying using a back five. On Thursday, Cyprus was eliminated with a score of 5-3-2. That puts three stoppers in Haaland, and if you have three midfielders in the middle, they can follow Ødegaard. The two biggest stars stopped. If the consequence is that Norway gets more space on the page, then that would be fine.

That’s why Nusa and Bobb mean so much. Against Georgia in September, Nusa scored both goals simply by controlling the ball on the left and dribbling. He put the ball on a silver platter for Ødegaard and Haaland.

Against Cyprus, he immediately grabbed the corner kick which led to Haaland’s first goal. Then, he passed to Haaland, who scored again.

Haaland and Ødegaard are still the team’s biggest stars, but they play in club teams where they are part of a machine. Haaland needs sticks and poles. Ødegaard needs space and good movement. Nusa can create something alone. Just give him the ball.

The new Norway

Then there are those who can accuse articles like this of putting pressure on the younger generation. Nusa is still new to the A team, and on Thursday Ståle reminded Solbakken that Bobb had rarely played an A team match in his life.

At the same time, Nusa was already considered in Europe as a super talent and played in the Champions League. Bobb started for City against Newcastle in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 at St. Mary’s. James’ Park. People outside Norway expect more from the two than taking the Nordic national team to the European Championships against Slovenia and Cyprus.

Perhaps many hope that the two of them will save Norway. But in the next few years, the duo could change the offense. For more than 20 years, there has been much talk about the national team’s shortcomings in winning the title.

Maybe we just got the answer.