Norway welcome the Netherlands to Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion on Wednesday as qualification for next year’s World Cup resumes.
Having both played three qualifiers back in March, the two sides find themselves locked on six points in Group G.
In fact, they are two of three nations on six points, along with Montenegro. First-place Turkey have seven points, Latvia have one, while last-place Gibraltar have yet to pick up a point.
🦁 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐥 = 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊! Good to see you, @VirgilvDijk 🧡#WCQ2022 pic.twitter.com/cbMkFyTYqD— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) August 30, 2021
🦁 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐥 = 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊! Good to see you, @VirgilvDijk 🧡#WCQ2022 pic.twitter.com/cbMkFyTYqD
Norway kicked off their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Gibraltar, before losing to Turkey by the same scoreline.
They then beat Montenegro 1-0, with RB Leipzig forward Alexander Sorloth converting Norway’s only shot on target in that game.
After failing to qualify for Euro 2020, Norway played two friendlies in June – beating Luxembourg 1-0, before losing 2-1 to Greece.
It is worth pointing out that Norway have only lost three of their previous 18 matches in all competitions.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, boast a slightly better record, having lost just three of their last 19 games.
After losing 4-2 to Turkey in their first qualifier, the Dutch beat Latvia 2-0. In their previous qualifier, they crushed Gibraltar 7-0.
However, things didn’t go plan for the Netherlands at Euro 2020, as they crashed out of the competition in the round of 16.
Despite winning all three of their group games, they were beaten 2-0 by the Czech Republic in the first knockout round.
Following the early exit, head coach Frank de Boer left his role and has since been replaced by Louis van Gaal, who is now enjoying his third stint at Netherlands boss.
Head-to-head: Norway and the Netherlands have faced each other 20 times over the years, although Norway have only managed to pick up five wins.
The Netherlands haven’t lost to Norway since 1992 and head into Wednesday’s clash on a four-match winning streak in this fixture.
Team news: Norway’s Rune Jarstein will miss Wednesday’s game due to self-isolation. Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard comes in as captain at the age of just 22.
Virgil van Dijk is set to return for the Netherlands, although van Gaal has named a similar 25-man squad to the one de Boer selected for Euro 2020.
Considering the Netherlands have claimed four straight victories over Norway, the away side are expected to claim all three points on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that the Netherlands will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to victory.