Solbakken backs call to bench Haaland and Odegaard after Norway's World Cup loss to France

FOXBOROUGH, United States (AFP) — Norway manager Stale Solbakken stood by his choice to omit Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard from Friday's starting side, even as Les Bleus handed his team a 4-1 World Cup defeat in Foxborough. He described the call as a straightforward one for the coaching and medical staff.

"It was a no-brainer, for me, for the physio and for the medical staff, and for some of the players themselves," Solbakken said after reshuffling his line-up with 10 changes following Monday's 3-2 victory over Senegal.

"They all said it would be difficult for many of them, and then the only consideration is, of course, the fans in Norway and here. They would have wanted to see Erling and Martin, but we want to go as far as we can, so it was a no-brainer. It didn't take us long to come to that decision."

Solbakken pointed to the tight schedule between the Senegal win and the France fixture as the main reason for the rest. He said Haaland and Odegaard understood the bigger picture. "They are team players, so they know what is best for the team."

Manchester City forward Haaland had struck four times across Norway's opening two fixtures — a pair in the 4-1 Group I opener against Iraq and two more in the Senegal result that clinched a place in the knockout stage. With neither him nor Arsenal captain Odegaard available, along with others such as Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth, Norway struggled to contain France.

Ousmane Dembele netted three times for the French, and Desire Doue added a late fourth. Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back for Norway, while Jorgen Strand Larsen saw a penalty saved shortly after the interval — a conversion would have cut the deficit to 3-2.

"Obviously our fans want to see Erling, they want to see Martin, but hopefully because of this we can give them some good summer nights in the next weeks," Solbakken added. His side now head to Dallas to face Ivory Coast in the last 32 next Tuesday.

"They are a very good team, physically one of the best in the tournament. Like our game against Senegal, this is a very 50/50 game so we need to be at our best," he said of the Ivorians.