Preview: Norway vs. Finland
Norway will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories when they take on Finland in an international friendly on Sunday afternoon.
The home team recorded a 2-1 win over Republic of Ireland in their last match on Thursday, while Finland will enter this weekend’s contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.
Norway recorded an impressive victory over Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Thursday evening, with Ohi Omoijuanfo coming up with what proved to be the winner in the 85th minute of the contest.
Stale Solbakken’s side will now be looking to overcome Finland in what will be their final match of their year, with their next game not scheduled to take place until March 25, facing Spain in their first qualifier for Euro 2024.
Norway have featured at the finals of three World Cups, with their last participation in the tournament coming back in 1998, when they managed to reach the round of 16.
The national team will not be present at the 2022 competition, having finished third in Group G, three points behind second-placed Turkey, and as mentioned, their focus will now be on Euro 2024.
Norway have dominated their meetings with Finland throughout history, recording 39 victories and suffering just nine defeats, while the remaining 14 games between the two nations have finished all square.
Finland, meanwhile, were present at Euro 2020, which proved to be the first time that they had qualified for the finals of a major international tournament.
The Eagle-owls managed to overcome Denmark in their first match of the competition but were beaten by Russia and Belgium in their next two fixtures to finish third in Group B.
Finland will not feature at the 2022 World Cup, having finished third in their qualification section, just one point behind second-placed Ukraine, with France winning the group relatively comfortably.
Markku Kanerva’s side will begin their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against Denmark on March 23, and they will also take on Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino and Slovenia in the section.
Finland will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia on Thursday, and they are unbeaten in their last three games, including a 2-0 success over Montenegro in the UEFA Nations League.
Norway International Friendlies form:
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Norway form (all competitions):
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Finland International Friendlies form:
DWD
Finland form (all competitions):
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We say: Norway 2-1 Finland
Norway will enter this match off the back of a morale-boosting victory over Republic of Ireland, and we are tipping them to secure another win here. Finland are certainly a team to be taken seriously, but we believe that the home side will have enough quality to secure the bragging rights.
Tnx