FIFA World Cup 2026: France too fast for Norway in the second series, says coach Solbakken

Norway repeatedly lost possession and paid the price against speedy France in the 4-1 World Cup defeat on Friday, but coach Stale Solbakken said his second-tier team deserved credit for its fighting spirit as the knockout stages loom.

France forward Ousmane Dembele scored a first-half hat-trick against the Norwegians, with Solbakken resting 10 of their 11 regular starters, including top scorer Erling Haaland, ahead of next week’s Round of 32 where they face Ivory Coast.

“It goes very quickly when we lose the ball a few times,” Solbakken said. «Offensively we created chances all game long, so the boys have to take credit for that. It wasn’t just in the second half that we created chances, we also created big chances.»

Striker Jorgen Strand Larsen had a chance to get Norway back into the match early in the second half when his soft penalty was saved by Mike Maignan.

“We had four big chances in the first half so I think we deserve credit for that, but you can’t lose the ball here in certain areas because it’s moving so quickly the other side,” Solbakken said.

His team, who finished second in the group with six points, three behind France, will now prepare for the knockout round against the Africans on June 30 in Dallas.

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That was also the reason why Solbakken rested so many players, much to the disappointment of the fans who wanted to see Haaland in action.

“Now it’s about recharging the batteries – remember the break we had in the last game is the shortest the team has had in the tournament, and now there’s a new game coming up in four days,” Solbakken said.

“The only argument for not doing what we did (resting ten players) is that the fans in Norway and here could have seen Erling and (captain) Martin (Odegaard), but then it wouldn’t be a long World Cup, and that’s what we are for – we are here to go as far as we can.”

Published on June 27, 2026