Norway World Cup Information

Norway played its first international in 1908. Its home ground is Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, which seats 25,572 spectators.

Norway has participated three times in the World Cup: in 1938, 1994 and 1998. The Norwegian national team is the only team that has played Brazil and never lost.

Norway's recent History Since 2000

After a slow start to the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Norway won their last seven games and reached the European Championship finals for the first time in their history. The finals started well, but ended with disappointment. In the opener, Norway got a deserved win against Spain through Steffen Iversen's goal. In the second match, Norway played poorly and lost 1-0 against Yugoslavia, but Norway would still qualify for the second round if they could win their last group match against Slovenia. A draw would also be good enough if the match between Spain and Yugoslavia ended with a draw or a Yugoslavia win.

In what must be described as an awful match, the game between Norway and Slovenia ended goalless. In the other match, Yugoslavia had a 3-2 lead after 90 minutes, which would be enough for Norway to advance. However, when Spain scored twice in stoppage time to win the game, Norway were knocked out. After the tournament, Semb had to suffer a lot of criticism for his tactics.

A slow start to the 2002 World Cup qualifiers did not stop the criticism. After five games, Norway had gained only two points, and after a decade of glory, it became clear that Norway would not reach the finals in Korea and Japan. Norway did finish the qualifying campaign with three straight wins, but it was too little, too late.

Despite the ever-increasing criticism, Semb remained in charge for the Euro 2004 qualifiers, where Norway eventually finished second behind Denmark, and faced a two-leg playoff against Spain. In the away leg, Norway got a respectable 2-1 defeat, which provided some cautious optimism before the return leg at Ullevaal. However, the return leg was a nightmare for the Norwegians. Spain dominated the game completely and won 3-0. After this match, Semb resigned.

Norway's next national coach became former national team hero Åge Hareide, who was hired in January 2004, having coached Rosenborg BK to the domestic league title the previous season. The team, which was dubbed "New Norway", won their first six games, although it must be said that many of these games were against second-rate opposition. In the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, results have been varying – ranging from an impressive 3-0 win against Slovenia to a disappointing home defeat against Scotland. Norway eventually finished second behind Italy, and played the Czech Republic in a playoff to reach the finals. In the first playoff match the Czech Republic won 1-0 in Oslo. Norway lost the match in Prague November 16, 2005 0-1, thus failing to make it to the 2006 World Cup.

In the Euro 2008 qualifiers Norway was drawn in a group with Greece, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova, and Malta.

On 16 August 2006, Norway faced Brazil in a friendly match at Ullevaal Stadium. The game ended 1-1, and Norway remained unbeaten by the Brazilians.

A successful start to the Euro 2008 qualifiers followed, breaking a run of eight games without victory, as Norway won 4-1 in Hungary, their largest away win in a qualifier since October 2001, after a string of "amateurish mistakes" by the hosts. It was followed by another victory, against Moldova, but after that, Norway scored only one point in the next three qualifying matches. The team improved with two home ground 4-0 wins in a row (against Hungary and Malta). They also showed great shape by beating Argentina 2-1 in a friendly match at Ullevål. Then they got a 1-0 victory in Moldova before drawing 2-2 with Greece, in a match Norway had the upper hand. Norway then played away to Bosnia and Hercegovina, winning 2-0 without really impressing. This gave Norway a very good chance of qualification if they won their following game against Turkey. However, Norway lost 1-2 after a poor performance, and were eliminated in the final round of qualification, with Turkey securing their place with a victory against Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Starting in August 2008, Norway will compete against the Netherlands, Scotland, Macedonia and Iceland in Group 9 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Europe.