It was supposed to be a heavyweight clash. Mbappe versus Haaland. Instead, we got a glorified training session. Erling Haaland sat on the bench, wearing a tracksuit, while Ousmane Dembele ran riot. Dembele bagged a first-half hat-trick in just twenty-five minutes. France cruised to an easy 4-1 victory at Boston Stadium. The blockbuster turned into a farce.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken didn’t care about the spectacle. With his team already through to the knockout rounds, he made ten changes to his starting lineup. Ten. He called it a “no-brainer.” The medical staff agreed. The players were exhausted after their match against Senegal. Only the traveling fans, who spent thousands to see Haaland and Martin Odegaard, got shortchanged. Solbakken basically admitted as much.
Without their talisman, Norway looked toothless. Jorgen Strand Larsen, Haaland’s replacement, even missed a second-half penalty that could have made things interesting. Haaland himself had already checked out mentally. After beating Senegal, the Manchester City striker openly admitted he didn’t care about the France game. He predicted France would win anyway. Talk about elite mentality.
But did this tactical surrender actually make sense? Maybe not. By losing, Norway handed themselves a logistical nightmare. Instead of staying near their North Carolina base and playing in New Jersey, they now have to fly 1,100 miles to Arlington, Texas, to face the Ivory Coast. If they survive that, they fly right back to New Jersey. It is a grueling itinerary.
Pundits are split. Ian Wright expressed surprise at the massive overhaul. Pat Nevin pointed out the sheer physical toll of Norway’s direct style, suggesting Solbakken couldn’t risk injuries to his giants. Roy Keane, ever the realist, defended the move. He noted that Norway isn’t France. They don’t have the depth or the expectation to win the whole thing. Surviving the group was their cup final.
History offers mixed lessons. Spain changed eleven players in 2006 and crashed out in the next round. Belgium changed ten in 2018 and marched to the semi-finals. Solbakken is betting the house on the Belgian route. The fans in the stands kept doing their Viking claps, trying to stay cheerful. But they paid to see a superstar, and they got a white flag instead. We will see in Texas if the gamble pays off.
