By Mie Eidstad
Norway striker Jørgen Strand Larsen had spent the weekend smiling, joking and poking fun at Sweden exactly where it hurts. Before Norway’s friendly against their neighbours, Larsen called Sweden “little brother”. It was the kind of comment guaranteed to add extra spice to one of Scandinavia’s fiercest rivalries. The football game might have been called a friendly, but nobody really believed it. Norway and Sweden have been fierce rivals for decades. When asked what Sweden were better at than Norway, he couldn’t resist from one final cheeky comment: “only ping pong”.
A line like that can make you look either very silly or very clever. By halftime at Ullevaal, Strand Larsen looked very clever. Norway opened the game with passion and aggression, while Sweden looked like a team that didn’t know what hit them. It took just nine minutes for Strand Larsen to score the opening goal.
Before this match, Sweden and Norway had played 111 games against each other. Sweden had won an overwhelming 59 games while Norway only won 26. Despite those statistics, Norway had shown significant improvement in recent years. Sweden’s last victory over Norway came in 2013, while their last win on Norwegian soil came 34 years ago.
The match quickly became a demonstration of Norwegian confidence. Norway’s two biggest stars were absent, but that proved no problem. Despite Martin Ødegaard resting ahead of the world cup and Haaland watching from the stands, Norway never looked short of quality.
Antonio Nusa became one of the main problems for Sweden. His flare and dribbling helped him score the second goal of the night. But Strand Larsen was not finished. Before halftime he scored again to make it 3-0. Two goals from the man who had done plenty of talking before the match. If Sweden wanted revenge for the “little brother” comment, they were not finding it on the pitch. Sweden were not only losing; they were losing to the man who had given them the easiest possible motivation before the game.
Anyone watching the game could only see that Norway were the better side before break. The difference in tempo was striking, and Sweden clearly struggled. After 61 minutes, the Norwegian manager Ståle Solbakken decided to change almost the entire team. It looked like the perfect opportunity for Sweden to step up. Only goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland remained on the pitch for the Norwegian team. Still, Norway continued to produce chances through youngsters Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup.
Sweden’s best moment came in the 77th minute, when Alexander Isak scored a beautiful consolation goal. It came after the Swedes improved in the second half and made the game more competitive. Still the final score ended Norway 3, Sweden 1. For Norway, it was exactly the kind of performance they wanted ahead of the world cup. For Sweden it was a painful reminder that pre-tournament confidence means nothing once the ball starts moving.
In the endless Norway-Sweden rivalry, there will be many more arguments. But tonight, big brother had the last laugh.
